Revived
by JewelRinoa
Summary: During a boring day in the office, Mai not only discovers that Naru has a brother, but that said brother believed himself to be dead! Only to realize that he had actually been in a coma! What will happen now that Naru has his beloved twin brother back?
1. Chapter 1: Revived

Revived: Chapter 1

**AN: **Okay so first things first~ Welcome, everybody to Revived, this was one of my old fics that I posted and took off (yah… I tend to do that) and now I think I'm ready to continue.

I hope you like it. I'm sorry for any grammatical mistakes, I'm not very good but I do enjoy writing. Meanwhile if you do see any obvious mistakes, please point them out. I'm open to criticism that is for the greater good of the story. :D

Disclaimer: Ghost Hunt is not mine, and I'm sorry if characters get OOC I will do my best for that not to happen.

~o~o~o~o~

How boring can this be?! We haven't taken a case in a couple of weeks, so I'm stuck in the office, doing nothing but make tea and organize papers.

By the way, I'm Mai Taniyama, 16 and female. I work for SPR which was founded by one Kazuya Shibuya, but I call him Naru-short for narcissist-because he's a narcissistic jerk. I mean yes, he might have the right to be, being the handsome and intelligent guy he is... But I swear... that irritating mouth of his!

Anyways, SPR is a ghost hunting business, we deal with paranormal activities brought on by ghost, unaware-or-aware-latent-psychics, and different kinds of powerful objects (often times possessed by a spirit of some kind.)

The SPR team altogether is Naru (the one who manages the business), Lin (the assistant), and me (the second assistant).

In most of our cases we are helped by others such as Housho Takigawa (Bhuddist Monk), Ayako Matsuzaki (self-practiced Miko and doctor), Masako Hara (famous Spirit Medium), John Brown ( Catholic Priest/Exorcist), and recently Osamu Yasuhara (High School Student/ Researcher).

On our most recent case many of us had been injured, but fortunately we were all safe in the end. That was the case that Ayako finally proved herself as a powerful Miko and the day Naru showed us a peek of his- previously hidden-Psychic abilities. We also learned that because of his strong abilities, that sucked up his own energy, that it wasn't a very good idea for him to use it. Evident in the fact that he fainted, and was brought to the hospital not soon after...

He's fine now, though he stubbornly refused to stay in the hospital even when the doctor insisted it. Hmph, stupid…prideful...narcissist!

It's been a few weeks since then and every time someone came up to us to ask for a case, Naru rejects them. When I asked all he said was, "I don't have time for their petty problems." I think that's his way of saying that the cases they brought out didn't involve any real spirits. It's hard to tell with him sometimes.

Anyways because of the lack of cases, I haven't seen the rest of the gang in quite a while. I really missed Monk, Ayako, John, Yasu, and even that snitch Masako (it's been that long.)

Looking around the quiet office, I yawned. I had nothing left to do. Except maybe…

Shaking my head I went to the kitchen to make two cups of tea. I turned on the heater and waited for the water to boil.

After fixing the tea and putting the cups in a tray, I headed straight to Naru's office. I knocked a few times and entered afterwards. "I don't remember saying you can go in Mai." said a voice from inside the office. I rolled my eyes.

"Yah. Yah. Just be grateful. I have your next cup of tea." I replaced his now empty cup with a filled one from the tray.

"Leave it on the table." He said in his irritatingly condescending monotone. He was sitting on his rotating chair, a book in his hands. It had very tiny letters and it wasn't Japanese. It's one he seems to like a lot. I've seen him reading it before.

"Mai, go back to work. Don't use me as an excuse to stop working."

"I finished all my work." Hah! Take that Naru. I placed my hands in my waist and waited for his response, a grin in my place.

"Did you clean the office?" He said after a beat. My hands fell and so did the corners of my lips.

"eh- but! You didn't tell me I had to clean the office!" I pointed my finger at him accusingly.

"I didn't know I hired such a helpless person. Do you need me to dictate all your tasks?"

'_Grr… I aughta….' _I left the office with a slam of the door.

"Stupid Naru... Infuriating... Jerk. Egotistical..." I muttered to myself as I head to Lin's office. He didn't answer immediately. "Lin would you like some tea?" I asked as calmly as possible.

"Come in." He said, and I opened the door to his office. When I got in I found Lin typing in his computer as per usual. I replaced his old cup with a new one, and left after he gave me a nod in thanks.

I left Lin's office feeling slightly lost. Man he's too quiet! I scratched my head, I couldn't even remember being mad at Naru anymore.

I looked around the office and decided that it did look like it needed some tidying up. I swept and dusted all the rooms, including Naru and Lin's offices and mopped the tiled kitchenette. I also washed the used cups, organized the cup drawer, and cleaned the air con filter.

When I was done I headed to the bathroom to change into fresher clothes. It was still too early, for me to leave. With another sigh I made a new batch of tea and delivered them. Lin again nodded his thanks, while Naru just sipped his tea, not even acknowledging my presence. That led to me being annoyed and slamming the door of his office, again.

I slumped into one of the comfy leather couches, finding it very very very… very comfortable...

~~~

(Dream)

"Mai?" called a gentle voice from beside me.

"eh... Naru?" I asked, opening my eyes, only to find a smiling Naru standing beside me. I was obviously dreaming, I deduced immediately. I looked around and saw that we were in a parking lot, and a little bit ahead was a hospital.

"Hi Mai." Dream Naru greeted, it was very rare that I had dreams with Dream Naru and even then it was always when we were on a case. I wondered what was different this time.

"uhmm.. Naru? Is that hospital where we're going to have our next case?" I asked. It was the only thing I can think of.

"No." he said in response. "It's where you'll find me." he said in a serious tone, before giving me an apologetic smile. "I haven't been completely honest with you Mai, and I'm very sorry about that."

"What do you mean, Naru?" I asked, what could he lie to me about?

"Well... For one thing, my real name is Eugene. I'm not Naru..." he said slowly, Looking at me straight in the eyes. The confession brought me to my knees.

"Eh?!" Was all I could come up with.

"I'm really sorry for not correcting the misunderstanding. I just... No, I have no excuse. I was just being a coward. I was afraid of what you would think if I told you I wasn't really Naru." His smile turned sad.

"If you're not Naru..." I paused, I always thought it was impossible for Dream Naru and Real-Naru to be one person, but it was still hard to swallow. I mean, not considering the huge gap in their personalities, the two looked EXACTLY alike. "... Who-who are you then?" I asked quietly. He nodded at the question.

"My name is Eugene Davis, please call me Gene." He paused and then bowed. I instinctively bowed back.

"It's nice to meet you, my name is Mai Taniyama..." I said albeit hesitantly.

"It's nice to meet you too Mai." He stopped looking a bit guilty. "I mean, I hope you don't mind if I continue calling you Mai?"

"Oh. No it's fine." I said, and I meant it. Even if he wasn't Naru, I've known him for as long as I had known Naru. Even if our only meetings were in my dreams, he had always been helpful and kind.

"Thank you." he said with a smile. Then, with a considerable pause he said. "I'm Naru's older twin brother." It took me a while to process that. It made sense, they looked exactly alike! But what didn't make sense was why Naru's twin brother showed up in my dreams even if I had never met him. Actually I didn't even know Naru had a brother. Seeing my conflicted face, Na-Gene continued his speech.

"Up until yesterday I thought I was dead." my eyes widened at that. "I got into a car accident and it led me to fall from a dam. What I didn't know was, I survived. I was brought to this hospital." he pointed to the hospital behind him. It was called Saito Hospital. "All this time I had been in a coma, and woke up only yesterday." he explained.

"So.. Does Naru know you're awake?"

"No." he shook his head. "He probably thinks I'm still dead." I was shocked about how casually he spoke of the situation. Then I thought, well maybe he really had accepted he was dead… then I guess it wouldn't be so surprising. "I would use our telepathy but it's a bit difficult to make the connection." I raised my eyebrow at that, but didn't ask. "That's where you come in." He said with a hopeful look on his face.

"Me?" I pointed to myself. He nodded.

"You're my only contact in the world at the moment. I woke up yesterday but the doctor asked for me to rest again, and I really couldn't argue... They already promised that they'd find a way to contact him, but it might take a while… I really want to see Noll again, and I don't really want him to think I'm dead for any longer." He said with a pleading look.

"Who's Noll?" The name sounded awfully like 'Naru'.

"Ah... Yes, I forgot, he hasn't told you yet. Well too bad." he had on a semi-mischievous look, semi cause for some reason it still looked as kind as before. "Naru hasn't been entirely truthful to you either. His real name is not Kazuya Shibuya... It's Oliver Davis..." he explained. My mouth became like a fish. Opening wide and closing again, I recognized name, it had come up in conversation a lot especially with Bou-san.

"T-the famous researcher?!" I stuttered.

"The one and only." Then he got a bit anxious. He looked at his wrist like he was checking the time, before realizing that didn't really help. I chuckled internally. N-Gene was pretty easy to read. "We don't have much time. Mai, can you get Naru here, please? You're the only one I can count on."

"I- .." I hesitated for a moment, looking at the kind gentle eyes of Naru's twin brother. "Yes… yes, of course." Gene smiled and I was reminded of the first time I had seen that smile.

"Thank you...I hope to meet you in person soon, Mai." He said his smile becoming even more pronounced.

~~~

I woke up feeling my cheeks flushed with red, after all… He and Naru looked exactly alike, including their amazingly handsome faces. Naru's face plus Gene's smile… It really should be made illegal.

"I don't pay you to sleep on the job Mai." A strikingly familiar voice said from nearby. My eyes fluttered for a bit, before opening up wide to take in my surroundings. I was still on the office, and sleeping on the couch. Naru was standing near the screen separating the living room from the kitchenette.

"Sorry." I mumbled, my cheeks brightening further at the thought of being caught. I could see Naru roll his eyes at me, before turning around.

"Going somewhere?" I asked rubbing a bit harshly at my droopy eyes. Naru didn't answer and continued to walk away. "Um.. Do you have to go immediately?" I asked again, this time Naru paused turning his head to look at me.

"If you're so impatient you can go home, just come here to the office early tomorrow." He said simply, staring at me with an impassive look. By then I was already in a sitting position on the couch, playing around with the hands on my thighs. I didn't really know how to address what Gene had told me about. Looking down at my fingers I opened my mouth to speak.

"Uhm… Naru, do you.. perhaps have an older brother? I mean an Older twin brother?"

~o~o~o~o~

**AN: **Okay! That's about it, this has been sitting in my computer for a long time, and after reading through it once (and editing some) I've decided it's time to post it. I'm sure there are many mistakes in my writing but I still hoped you enjoyed!

Leave a review if you can, I'd like to know if I should or should not continue it. I'm currently finishing and editing the next chapter so it will come out by next week. But no promises. :D

And if someone should be interested in helping me edit, please I would very much appreciate it. :D

JewelRinoa


	2. Chapter 2: Revived

**Revived Chapter 2**

**AN: **It's shorter but at least it's out. :D

_**Disclaimer: **_Ghost Hunt is not mine, and it never will be. O.o

Warning: Many linebreaks up ahead. XD

~o~o~o~o~

"_Uhm… Naru, do you.. perhaps have an older brother? I mean… an older twin brother?" _

Naru froze in his place, but his face remained impassive.

"A brother called … Eugene?" Mai continued, still staring at her hands on her lap. Naru did not respond. Lin's office door opened and closed, behind them, but neither noticed.

"How do you know of that name?" Naru asked slowly. Lin who had not heard of the earlier conversation just stood still, but he noticed a look of shock in his young charge.

"I- By that- uhm…" Mai stumbled in her words, finally having looked up from her hands, and seeing the narrowed eyes of her boss.

"Mai." Naru said threateningly.

"I had a dream." Mai explained quickly. "I mean, I've always had dreams." Here she reddened slightly. "Where I would see you-" she scrunched her face "-well not you, but Gene." Naru flinched at the old nickname, but didn't say anything. "He would help us you know? In our cases, when we're in a tough spot. He'd be there." Mai continued her face reddening. "I always thought he was you." She looked at Naru.

"He would tell me what to do, occasionally. But mostly he'd show me things that I needed to see, things that would endanger us, or things that we just needed to know." Naru only continued to stare. "But he usually only showed up when we have a case." She shrugged. "Not always of course, but occasionally. This time was different. This time he told me." She stopped looking straight into her boss's eyes.

"He told me that he wasn't you." She started. "He told me that he died." She took a quick breath, as she looked at Naru with a confused look. "Well actually, he told me that he didn't die." At that Naru finally moved, and Lin spoke.

"What?" He asked angrily, as Naru stumbled in his steps. "Mai what are you saying?" Lin remarked loudly.

"Well he told me that he had been in a car accident, and had fallen off a dam." Mari stated. "He also told me about how he thought he had died, but he said yesterday he had woken up in a hospital." She looked at Naru now. "He said that this whole time, he had been in a coma. He said he wanted to see you again…" She paused, as she saw Naru flinch at her words. His face was covered with his hands, as he leaned into the counter behind him. "He said he tried to contact you through… uhm telepathy? He also told the hospital about you but he didn't expect them to find you easily, so he told me through my dream." She finished.

Naru who had previously refused to move, suddenly stood. Mai gasped at the look on his face, it was a look of disbelief, shock, confusion, and horror. "Naru…" She murmured. "He just… really wants to see you again." She explained.

"You said he woke up in a hospital?" Lin asked out of breath, Mai had not realized that he had gone to his office and is now holding his usual laptop. Mai only nodded. "Where Mai?" He asked exasperated.

"Saito Hospital." She said as she remembered the scenery from the dream. "It's really big, and it's close to some kind of mountain I think. It's not a very big mountain…" She said thoughtfully, as Lin typed away in his laptop.

"Mai." A shaky voice at her left shocked her out of her focus. "Pack up the car." Naru said, straightening himself. "My pack is next to the book shelf and Lin's next to his desk." Mai nodded.

"Uhm.. Naru? Is it… possible, for me to come with?" Naru only nodded his response as he sat on the couch where Lin was typing away furiously.

"While you're at it." Naru said out of the blue. "Pack some tea." Mai rolled her eyes, the familiar request snapping her out of the somber mood.

"Sure sure." She said, finally smiling. She had never seen her boss so… emotional.

**~o~o~o~o~**

"Naru the packs are in the car and I have the tea."

"Lin?" Was all Naru said.

"I think I found it." He stated. "Are you certain it's near a mountain?" Lin asked, and Mai nodded.

"How far?" Naru asked.

"We can make it a few hours." Lin replied, shutting down his laptop and standing, Naru nodded.

"Let's go."

**~o~o~o~o~**

Mai opened the thermos in her hands, pouring some tea for Naru who was sitting in the front next to Lin who was driving. "Here you go." Naru took the cup and immediately started to drink.

Mai scowled at the lack of any response, as usual, but said nothing. They had been driving for a while now, but not a word has been said. Which in all honesty was the usual deal, but this time she felt that both Lin and Naru were in deep thought.

She couldn't really imagine, how she would feel if someone told her that a person that she loved and cared for was suddenly alive, especially if everyone knew that person had been dead for a long time. She glanced at her boss, as he sipped at his tea.

It was the same for her, she really didn't know what to say.

~o~o~o~o~

Finally, after a long drive with no breaks they seemed to be nearing the hospital. Timely too, Mai can't help but think. Naru had gone through the whole thermos already. Mai looked out the window, marveling at the beautiful mountain which they were now descending, all the way to the still tiny-looking hospital.

"That's it." She stated quickly. She couldn't help but stare at the hospital which continued to enlarge as they neared.

After a little bit of consideration, only then did she realize that this was real.

That Gene was real, that Naru had a brother-a twin brother-, and the boy she saw in her dreams was there in one of the hospital beds. She took quick breaths as she tried to take it all in.

"That's where Gene is." She mumbled, as she turned to look at the men in the front. She wondered if they felt the same way she did, only to shake her head. _'No, what they're feeling is probably stronger. Thought it's just like them to not show it.' _She said with a roll of her eyes. Both were staring straight ahead, not a single slip of emotion on their faces.

After a little longer, the car stopped.

"We're here." Mai said without really meaning to, she was the first out of the car. The parking lot, of course, looked very familiar. If she tried she could probably find the exact space where she had been standing in the dream, but instead she stared at the hospital in front of her. "Saito Hospital." She read aloud. She heard a car door closing beside her, followed by another, and she was joined by her two bosses. Again she moved first, walking straight to the hospital entrance while the other two followed.

**~o~o~o~o~**

"Uhm… Excuse me?" Mai said in order to get the attention of the nurse at the front desk.

"Yes Dear?" An elderly nurse replied.

"I'm looking for someone called Eugene? Eugene Davis?" The nurse nodded and proceeded to type at the desktop next to her. "He should have recently woken from a coma."

"While we don't have any one here registered at that name." The nurse said thoughtfully. "We do have an unidentified coma patient." She said, tacking a 'hmm' at the end. "He's been here for almost a year now." Now she looked at Mai with a questioning look. "Do you think that this is the one you're looking for?" But before Mai could answer, a woman from behind them had interrupted.

"Eugene?" She asked quietly. "Why are you up? That's not good for your legs, they haven't-" she paused. "You're not Eugene?" She asked in wonder.

"My name is Oliver Davis, I'm Eugene's twin brother." Naru then explained.

"I'm Akiko Saito, my dad is the owner of this hospital." She said quietly, and then she went apprehensive. "Uhm…" She started, but Naru cut her off.

"When can we see him?"

"Oh! Of course, you can see him now, but-" She then bowed. "I sincerely apologize." She did not raise her head. "I was the one." You can hear her voice shaking, as if she were going to start crying at any second. "I was the one who hit him." Mai gasped at that, glancing concernedly at Naru. "I saw that he fell, and I drove down, in order to try to save him. Other's got to him first, and quickly brought him to my father's hospital. He's fine now, and my father himself has been taking care of him. Even when we found out that the trauma of the crash, caused him to enter into a coma, I- refused to let them unplug his support." She explained hastily, head still down. "But- but that doesn't mean you have to forgive me." She looked at Naru in the eyes, you could so her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "I'm sorry… I'll go take you to see him now."

"If it makes you feel better." Naru sighed. "All I care about is that he's…" he paused.

"If you could please take us to him." Lin asked politely, the woman in front of them nodded and rubbed at her eyes as discreetly as she could.

Mai could only smile at the sight of the two men beside her. It seemed they were very much against seeing a woman cry.

"If you would please follow me." Saito-san said after clearing her throat. "I'll take you to him."

It wasn't long before we stopped in front of a hospital door, and just like the nurse in the front desk said, the nameplate was empty. Saito-san had excused herself, saying the she was going to look for her father so that he could give them Eugene's patient report. Now, it was the three of them again.

Naru was the one closest to the door, but made no move to turn the knob. Instead he stared at it, with focus. Occasionally his hand twitched, as if to open the door, but he has yet to actually raise it.

Neither Lin nor Mai, made a sound as they waited for their boss. It had been like that for a while, both stared at his back, not doing anything to rush the inevitable.

Finally though, Naru took hand of the door knob, and pushed the door slightly open.

"Here I thought you were never going to open it." A gentle voice came from inside. "It's been a while… Noll."

**~o~o~o~o~**

**AN: **That was very difficult to write. *Sweatdrops* I hope I didn't make it too awkward. I was going to make it longer, but I couldn't get myself to do it. o.o

I was having a difficult time, trying to decide how Naru should react. *wipes forehead* Next Chapter will be up in a bit, It's already in the works. :D This time we meet Gene.

BTW: sorry for the line breaks, and the fact that not a lot of stuff interesting stuff is happening. It will get interesting as we go on. :D I hope.

Tell me what you think? :D

~~~ JewelRinoa


	3. Chapter 3: Revived

**Revived Chapter 3**

**AN: Yay~ Gene-time. I think I'm getting into, updating once a day, but Idk if I'll be able to keep to that. **

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost Hunt. :D **_

**~o~o~o~o~**

**Mai's POV**

"_Here I thought you were never going to open it." A gentle voice came from inside. "It's been a while… Noll." _

"Are you ever going to come in?" The voice asked again. It was then that Naru finally pushed the door completely open. Revealing a his one and only twin brother, Eugene Davis.

I wanted to say something, but in the end I couldn't get myself to move. Instead I watched as Naru took baby steps towards his older brother, with wide apprehensive eyes. Even though all they were doing was staring at each other, I felt as if I were intruding in something private. For a moment I was tempted to close the door, in order to leave the two alone to continue their reunion, but I couldn't get myself to stop staring.

"I'm sorry." Gene said with misty eyes, as soon as Naru was standing beside him. "I didn't mean to make you so-" he tried to continue, but sobs stopped him from saying anymore. "I-" he paused sniffling and rubbing his eyes, looking like a little kid that had just been scolded by its mother. "I missed you Noll." Gene said through his tears.

Before I knew it, I myself was tearing up at the sight. My eyes blurred with tears as I watched Gene pull Naru into a loving hug. Even though their position was awkward Gene did not let go, and before long Naru began to hug him back, placing his head on the other's shoulders.

"It's just like you to do something like this." Came Naru's muffled voice, and Gene chuckled through his tears, combing his hand through Naru's hair.

"I know…" He said with a smile. "I know." A childish 'Hmph' from Naru was heard, and Gene chuckled even more. From where I was standing I could see that the tears weren't of sorrow, but of joy, and that only made me smile even more. I sighed contentedly, and rubbed my tears away.

**~o~o~o~o~**

After the reunion, Naru remained beside Gene on the hospital bed, while Lin and I positioned ourselves around it after finding some stray chairs in the room. For the most part, the two were talking in English, which I didn't understand at all. But Gene had smiled the whole time, and I swear I think I saw Naru smiling a few times too. You never really know with that guy.

However, not a few minutes later, Akiko-san entered the room with her father.

"It's nice to see you so energetic Eugene-san." The doctor commented at Gene's smile. "Is there anything you would like me to check up on?" He asked politely, as I made way for him.

"No, I'm feeling perfectly fine. Thank you." Gene responded, with a little bow of his head. The doctor only nodded, making a few notes on his clipboard.

"Well your check up yesterday came up with no problems." He said with a smile. "You should be able to leave the hospital after a couple more days." He nodded to himself. "We just need to monitor your food intake for now, as well as getting you started in your physical therapy." He said with a glance at Gene's feet. "Fortunately you weren't under for very long, but your muscles will need a couple of weeks in order to get you back to your usual shape. We've issued you a wheelchair for you to use, and as for your physical therapist, you will be meeting him every now and then for a while. If he thinks you need more help we can get you names for physical therapist in your area. We'd have to ask you to stay for three days at most, and then you're free to go." He finished, putting down his clipboard on a counter.

"Lin, take care of the hospital bills." Naru said simply, and Lin nodded.

"About that-" The doctor suddenly remarked. "I must insist that you leave that to us." He said with a polite smile.

"After all, it was my fault." Akiko-san said from behind her father. "Please, accept this as my apology." She bowed again.

"It wasn't really your fault." Gene said with a shrug, and a smile. "But I can see you'll probably insist." Akiko-san only smiled.

"We apologize that we weren't able to contact you as soon as possible." The doctor did say thoughtfully. "When we searched his belongings there wasn't really anything that told us who Eugene-san was. We asked the newspapers to spread the news, but still no one came to identify him."

"Ahhh…" Gene agreed. "You'd probably have more luck if you were in the nearby city; I had just finished a job there." He said with a scratch of the head.

"We were fortunate that you were able to wake up." Akiko-san said quietly, Gene chuckled at that.

"That confused me actually, this whole time I believed I was dead." He said more seriously. "When I woke up, it was…" He trailed. "I thought it was a dream." He now said with a sad smile. "But then I realized dead people probably don't dream." Naru sighed from his position next to him.

"It's no wonder why you refused to cross over."

"Actually, there were times I tried, but I never could." Gene explained. "I probably should have realized that I was in the astral plane, but no, at the time I thought maybe it just wasn't my time yet." At this point the two doctors were becoming very confused, and really so was I. "Then I met Mai." Gene said with a chuckle. "Hi Mai, it's finally nice to meet you face to face." My cheeks heated at that. It seems I still wasn't used to the twin thing. Again I thought he was Naru.

"You too." I mumbled, which led to him chuckling… again.

"Oh… But I did miss you Noll." Gene said after a break in his laughter. "Lin too, of course." He said giggling now. "And Mom and Dad." He smiled a sweet smile, while Naru flinched.

"What did you say?" He asked quietly, his eyes wide. Gene looked at him confused for a bit, and then took on the same look. It was almost funny how much they looked so much alike.

"I forgot!" Gene squeaked, Naru rubbed at his face, and Lin sighed. "He…he… we should probably call them?" He asked Naru, with a sheepish smile. "Then again what are we going to say?"

"I could explain if you want?" Akiko-san suddenly said. I had almost forgotten they were there.

"Thanks, but I think I should probably be the one to explain." Gene sighed, and other nodded understandingly.

"If that's the case, we'll leave you to it." The doctor said with a smile and a bow. Akiko-sand did the same. "I'll be back again to give you your schedule." He said to Gene who only nodded politely.

When the door finally closed behind them Gene asked. "Okay! Whose phone are we using?" Not a second later, Lin got his out, and started to dial. We all stared at him for a few seconds, until he finally said something, and with a nod he handed the phone to Gene. "It's on speaker."

They started talking, and even though I strained my brain to translate they were talking too fast. I'm really regretting not paying attention in English class.

I got the gist of it. At first it was only a woman, who they called _Luella_. She started crying mid conversation, and suddenly there was another voice, who they called _Martin_. At that point there were a lot of breaks and even a little shouting. Whatever they were talking about, Gene started to tear up again, and Naru looked almost fond. The call dragged on, and I think at some point they were planning a visit here.

But somewhere along that time I fell asleep.

It had been a long day.

**~o~o~o~o~**

After a while, we rented rooms from a nearby inn. Just so that we didn't trouble the hospital too much, but we still ended up spending most of our time in the hospital. Gene spent most of his time staying awake with us, saying he had had enough sleep to last a lifetime. The Doctor came once or twice a day in order to check up on his progress, while a nurse came in to drop off his food. Occasionally he would get wheeled out of the room in order to meet up with his physical therapist. But most of the time he was stuck in his hospital bed, forcing Naru and I to tell what had happened whilst he was gone.

"I was able to see into your conversations, and everything." Gene had explained once, after I asked why he wanted a retelling of our past cases. "But I would miss things sometimes, often without meaning too. There were times where I would suddenly find myself somewhere else, and now that you mention it. A lot of the things that you just told me… I can't seem to remember." He said sheepishly. "Sometimes an image would pop up that relates to it, but…" He shrugged. "I can't remember a lot of what happened."

That reminded me of the dreams I had, where Gene appeared. It was a curious thing, we didn't really understand it. Or at least I didn't. Sometimes Gene and Naru would analyze it, and I think at one point they came to an understanding, but I was never really too curious to ask.

At other times, Gene would ask Naru what he was planning to do now. Naru never replied, but one time I did ask.

"What do you mean?" Naru had turned to me, as if noticing I was there, before looking away again.

"SPR was a cover." Gene explained, with narrowed eyes. "He would spend time here, doing his research, while at the same time looking for my body. Now that he found me…" Gene paused. "He can leave anytime." I couldn't help my surprise at that. My lungs started to constrict, and I found it difficult to breath.

"Stop talking about me as if I'm not here." Naru said snappily, at Gene who was still looking at him like a scolding parent.

"I'm staying here." Gene said with a huff, crossing his arms to his chest. And for some reason I could breath, just a little easier.

"I have a lease on the building." Naru suddenly said. "It's there for another 3 years." Gene smiled at that.

"Does that mean you're staying?" He asked, now nudging at the other.

"It would be easier to conduct my research in England." Naru reasoned, and I held my breath.

"But we can collect data here!" Gene argued back. "And you got to admit, you enjoy being the boss." He said teasingly. "It's not that difficult to correspond with Luella and Martin from here." He continued. "And if you really want to go to England, you can always fly back. Come on Noll." He groaned. "Can't we stay in Japan a little longer?" There was a long pause, but finally Naru looked away again, saying only…

"You deal with Luella and Martin." Gene smile adoringly, and nodded.

"Sure thing." I could only smile, as I was finally able to breathe again.

I don't know what I would have done… If Naru had left.

I never really thought about it…

**~o~o~o~o~ **

Finally, it was time to go home.

After apologizing some more, the Saito-duo allowed Gene home, with a warning about his eating habits. He was asked to keep a steady watch about what he ate, so that his body will be given time to get used having normal food. Gene was helped into a wheel chair, and asked to continue his physical therapy for a couple more weeks.

Naru had told me that I was on leave for the next few weeks, and that he will call me back when I was needed. I was worried that he would never call again, but Gene promised that they will.

After the long ride home, they dropped me at my apartment and that was that.

I waved until I was no longer able to see the car.

I was happy that Naru had Gene back, but I couldn't help but feel a touch of sorrow knowing that I won't be seeing them for the next few weeks.

I sighed as I entered my dark and apartment, muttering a quiet 'I'm home.'

**~o~o~o~o~**

**AN: **First things first.

I'm not a doctor, nor have I studied medicine so I'm not sure if Gene's treatment is realistic (if anyone knows about that, I'd be delighted to go back and change a few things. :D)

I'm sorry if it seems rushed, but I thought that this was dragging a bit too long. The next chapter will probably be up real soon (I'm updating a bit too fast I think, but I want this part of the story to be finished as soon as possible.) I think, the fifth chapter would be the starting point of a case… so yah~

Thanks for the people who are now following the story! I hope you continue to follow along. :D Thanks for those who faved it as well. 3 It makes me very happy, to know that people like the story. :D

Btw: If you log on to review, I'll try my best to reply~ :D So…

Review please! I would really love to know what you think.

Jewel Rinoa


	4. Chapter 4: Revived

**Revived Chapter 4 **

**AN: You guys are awesome! Thank you all very much for your support. :D **

_**Disclaimer: Ghost Hunt is not mine. O.O I like Gene too much, NOT to make him a main character. Hence this fanfic. :D**_

**~o~o~o~o~**

**Mai's POV**

"Ugh…" I groaned, probably for the millionth time that day. "Mi-chi-ru."

"What is it now Mai?" It was break time, and we found ourselves eating around my table, as usual.

"Why is it that we have to go to school?" I questioned.

"I don't know, maybe it's because-" Michiru started to explain.

"I mean, couldn't we have done better things in our lives?" I asked after cutting her off, but all she did was roll her eyes at me.

"Like Ghost Hunting?" She asked sarcastically, and with that my head was once again acquainted with my desk. Such has been happening for the entirety of the lunch period.

"What if they never call?" I asked quietly to myself.

"Huh?" Michiru asked, but I just shook my head against the table. Three weeks had passed since I last saw Gene and Naru, and still there was no call. The first two weeks, I was distracted by the need to cram for exams, but now that those were finished there was nothing else to do. I was almost tempted to skip school and walk around Shibuya Street just to see if I could possibly run into them. But then I realized that Naru would probably call me through the school, crossing out my plans of even trying to attempt to skip school.

I sighed, as I rubbed at my forehead.

Of course that wasn't the only reason that I was being so antsy. After all, I was missing the others too. I haven't seen the rest of the team for the longest time, which only made me realize that without SPR I don't really have any connection to the others. If Naru does decide to close shop, then not only would I never see him again, but the others as well.

And even if I did… Who's to say that everything would ever be the same?

This time I leaned my head against the window beside me, staring at the beginning of a nice and sunny afternoon.

That's one reason to be happy I guess.

Or not…

'_Even the weather is conspiring to make me depressed.' _I thought to myself, as I waited at the overhang in front of the school. It suddenly started pouring rain, and I had forgotten to bring my umbrella.

"Just my luck." I said with a groan.

"You're still here Mai?" Came a voice from behind me. I looked back to see Michiru, preparing to open an umbrella.

"I forgot my umbrella." I said with a pout. She nodded understandingly.

"Want me to drop you to a nearby store?" She asked, pointing at her own umbrella. "You can get a disposable one from there." She explained.

"Do you mind?" I asked sheepishly.

"It's fine." She smiled. "Come on, it's getting a bit chilly."

**~o~o~o~o~ **

"Mai, Mai wake up." A hand nudged my shoulders slowly.

I wanted to ask who it was, but instead all I said was "Eh…?"

"Mai, get up your embarrassing yourself." The voice whispered this time, nudging me more aggressively.

"I'll get you your tea… Naru…"

"Mai!" The voice now said louder.

"Eh!?" I looked around to see my usual classmates, all staring at me. Most of them were trying to stifle giggles and grins. Next to me was a blushing Michiru, with hands crossed at her chest. "What?" I asked, probably blushing as well. I had probably fallen asleep mid-lecture.

"You're being called to the front desk." Michiru said, sitting back down on her desk.

"I am?" I asked quietly, I could hear my heart beating loudly as I stood to exit the classroom. The only one that would call me… It has to be! With that I ran, and didn't stop until I was finally at the booth. The kind receptionist said a few words, which I didn't pay much attention to. I just nodded along, staring at the phone in his hands.

Once I had it in my hands, I almost didn't know what to do with it.

What if it wasn't…

"Hello?" I asked after raising the phone to my ears.

"Mai." And with that familiar tone I released my breath.

"Naru." I said, just to say his name aloud.

"Drop by afterschool, we have a case." I nodded, but reddened when I realized he couldn't see it.

"Of course! I'll be there!" I now said excitedly, I could hear a shift and I almost thought that he was hanging up the phone. But instead…

"Mai!" A similar voice said loudly, I could almost see him smiling from the other end.

"Gene! Are you feeling better?" I was easily dragged into his pace, as I grinned from ear to ear.

"Never better Mai." He said with a chuckle. "I can't wait to see you! Make sure to come right away!" He said with an excited tone. Really, at times I can't believe how child-like he acts.

"Of course! I'll head there as soon as the bell rings!" I declared, and again I imagined him smiling just a little bit wider.

"'Kay, but be careful on your way here."

"Of course." I said with a happy sigh.

"Alright then~ See you later Mai!"

"See you." I couldn't stop myself from smiling if I tried.

**~o~o~o~o~**

It wasn't long after the end of school, that I finally made I was finally face to face with the door of the SPR base.

Opening the familiar doors, I was greeted by the sound of Gene's voice.

"Who else is coming?" He asked.

"See for yourself." Naru answered in his usual voice.

"Guess whose back!" I announced loudly, peeking through the screen that separated the lounge from the entrance.

"Mai!" Gene greeted happily. I looked at the able-body beside him, still wearing the same old black attire. No response, of course.

"Hi Gene!" I greeted, smiling as I put away my stuff on my desk. Once I was done I glanced at the person next to him, still not a word. "Naru." I greeted with a scowl.

"If you have time to squabble, why don't you go and make some tea." He said after finally, looking away from the folder he was reading. Gene chuckled from beside him. "Make enough for the others as well."

"Hmph…" Just like Naru to order me to make tea as soon as I get back. I mean I didn't expect a- wait. "Did you say others?" I asked gleefully.

"I called the others before I called you." I was tempted to scream at him. "They should be here in a few minutes."

That was all he said, leaving me to my thoughts yet again. I prepared the tea almost mechanically, stealing glances at the front door while I worked. I was really excited to see the old team again. After all it's been at least two months since we last saw each other.

As I was placing the cups of tea on a tray, the door finally opened, and in came… "Masako?"

"Mai." Was all she said before sitting down on one of the recliners. _'Why did she have to be the first one to arrive?' _I groaned and added another cup to the tray. "It can't be." I hear her gasp, and I realized that she probably noticed Gene. I smirked to myself. _'Top that Masako, I knew about Gene first than you did.' _I handed them a cup each, looking offhandedly at the reaction in Masako's face.

"It's very nice to meet you." Gene said with a bow of his head.

"You're…" Masako got over her shock, now taking on a look of pure adoration.

"Eugene Davis." He said with a smile.

"The famous spirit medium…" She finished. _'Wait…Pause. She knew?!' _

"And of course you're Masako Hara, also a very famous medium." Masako then covered her face with her sleeves. From where I was standing I could see that she was blushing, at the fact that Gene not only praised her but was also giving her one of his trademark smiles.

"How's it going?" The door opened once again, this time revealing-

"Bou-san!" I immediately ran towards him, giving him a big hug.

"Hey there kiddo." He said after mussing my hair a bit. "How's being alone with-"

"You too are close." Gene said with a chuckle. Bou-san looked from Naru –who was still reading from that stupid folder- to Gene who was waving at him as he smiled. "It's very nice to meet you." Gene said with another little bow of the head.

"Uh- You too…" Monk stuttered.

"Uhm… Bou-san…" I mumbled, trying to escape from his now iron tight grip. "If you could.. let go."

"Ah… right." I released the breath I was holding, and started giggling at the look on Monk's face.

"Would you like some tea?" I asked in between giggles, as I led Monk to a chair.

"S-sure…" He said wide-eyed. He was still staring at the grinning Gene, and the occupied Naru. But just as soon as he was seated, the door opened yet again.

"Good Day." John said with a bow. He looked around the room, seemingly not noticing anything strange. "Ah. Are you perhaps Naru's brother?" He asked Gene after find a seat. Monk, who was sitting next to him, suddenly became lively again.

"That's all you got to say?!" He whispered as he wrapped an arm around John's shoulders. John just looked at him with a clueless expression.

"What else is there to say?" He asked innocently. I couldn't help but chuckled a little at Monks antics. Gene laughed as well.

"_The name's Eugene_." He said in perfect English, and John smiled politely.

"John Brown." Gene smiled back.

"It's very nice to meet you John." Gene then turned his attention to Monk.

"Ta-Takigawa Housho." And just like that, as I was handing them their respective cups of tea, that the door opened once again. I guess it was going to be a full house today.

"Who is it that requires my help?" Ayako questioned as she strode in the office, with her brand name clothes.

"It seems we're all gathered." Naru announced closing the binder he was holding. "Yasuhara will follow as soon as he's allowed to get out of school." He explained, before taking a sip from his tea.

"Wait!" Ayako suddenly screamed. "Who are you!?" She shrieked, point rudely at a smiling Gene.

"Hello! My name is Eugene!" He said with another small head bow. "I'm Naru's twin brother." He explained with a patient smile.

"Ah…?" Ayako suddenly deflated, after seeing the smile on Gene's face. Finding a seat, she continued to stare intently at Gene. Who only continued to smile at her politely.

"I'm still not used to it." Monk who was sitting at Ayako's left, suddenly muttered. "Seeing a smiling… Naru. I mean now I know it's not him but… it's still weird." He announced quiet loudly.

"You can say that again." Ayako mumbled to herself. Gene only chuckled as a reply.

"If you're all about done with your pleasantries, it's about time we get started on our most recent case." Naru remarked haughtily from where he sat.

"There's the Naru we all know and love." Monk whispered in awe.

**~o~o~o~o~**

**AN: I hope I made all their reactions believable enough. More interaction will happen in the following chapters, and probably more answers as well. :D Sorry if the Chapter is dull O.O**

**The case will be introduced in the next chapter. Which I will start after having posted this XD. It's going to be longer, so I'm not sure if I'll still be able to post it so quickly. But I guess we'll see :D **

**To answer a few questions: **

**Pairing wise: I'm not so sure… O.O Maybe at one point I'll leave that up to you guys. **

**And I will be replying to those logged in to review. :D Mostly to say my thanks but also to answer your questions. **

**I'd really like to know what you think of the story so far. :D **


	5. Chapter 5: Love Strong part I

**Revived Chapter 5: **_**Love Strong **__**Part I**_

**AN: Finally we're starting a case! **

**BTW: sorry for the last chapter, I uploaded it late at night. xD I re-read and I realized there were so many grammatical mistakes. I'll probably look it over later on. :D and update it. (No big changes, just in spelling and grammar.) **

**BTW again xD: There will be a POV change, so just watch out for that. Of course I'll mark it, but just in case. Can you guess who it is? O.O**

_**Disclaimer: Ghost Hunt is not mine~ **_

**~o~o~o~o~ **

**Mai's POV **

As soon as everyone was settled, Naru once again opened the binder he had read from.

"As a request, I took on a case for old colleagues of mine." He began. "They requested that I investigate an American manor located around the outskirts of town. It's been reported that a child of the couple that lives there, has been institutionalized."

"Institutionalized?" I wondered aloud.

"She's been sent to a mental hospital." Naru continued off handedly.

"That doesn't sound like much of a case." Monk commented rhetorically.

"Her parents were forced to seek help for her, after she almost succeeded in murdering a neighbor of theirs. They only sent her to the institution after she had refused to stop making attempts to murder the boy."

'_I wonder why she would do something like that?' _I thought to myself.

"If you ask me, it seems like she belongs in the nut house." Ayako retorted, with a huff.

"After interviewing both parents, and the staff my colleagues were able to conclude that the girl's actions were opposite of how she usually acted." Naru said calmly.

"And you're going along with that?" Ayako sneered.

"There was a presence in the manor." Gene now commented. "It was very faint, and no matter how hard I tried I was unable to get an exact reading." He mumbled. "I wasn't able to discern much of its actions, but it wasn't able to hide from me completely."

"Could you be a spiritual medium as well?" John asked innocently, while the rest of us (excluding Masako) gaped at his explanation.

"I dabble." Gene sheepishly replied, and John nodded understandingly.

"There's no real reason for us to believe that the spirit is at all related to the girl who got institutionalized." Monk stated.

"Sound hypothesis." Naru replied. "Nevertheless, my colleagues are most certain that this was a case that we should look into." He said as he closed the binder on his lap.

"Who are these colleagues of yours, if you don't mind me asking?" Monk asked after a bit of thought.

"They have asked that their identities not be revealed." Naru said in a completely bland tone.

"Nevertheless these are people that we've known for a long time." Gene continued for him. "They would very much appreciate it, if we should work on this case for them. If you are able to give us a bit of your time, your help will be very much appreciated." He concluded with a charming smile.

"I trust in your judgment." Masako suddenly remarked, voice still muffled by her sleeve. "If you say that there is a spirit… I'll be willing to help you find out more about it."

"That was quick!" Monk said with surprise. "But, I'll be happy to lend whatever help I can give." He flashed a smile of his own.

"I hope I can be of help." John said politely. Ayako sighed.

"I'll be there as well of course." She said with another sigh. "Who knows what you'd all get up to, when I'm not there?" She whispered to herself.

I couldn't help but smile, it seems like we'd all be together for the next case.

"Good." Naru stated as he stood. "Be ready to leave before 8 tomorrow morning. They're expecting us around noon." He said before going back into his office.

"So…" Monk leaned towards Gene. "You're a medium?" Gene smiled.

"I'm asked to investigate things occasionally." He said modestly.

"How come we've never seen or heard of you before?"

"I was in a coma." Gene explained, and Masako gasped.

"Did you know about this Masako?" Ayako asked, lifting one of her eyebrows.

'_That's what I'd like to know.' _I glared resentfully at Masako. How on earth did she know about Gene?

"No." Masako answered, and I realized, that she was telling the truth. If only because even up to now she looked incredibly shocked at Gene's comment.

"I woke up a couple of weeks ago." Gene continued. "I've been on the receiving end of physical therapy, so I can walk around now." He said with a smile. "But I often have to take breaks, so that my legs could get used to it slowly."

"Eugene Shibuya?" John suddenly said. That was then that I realized that none of them new that Naru was the Oliver Davis that they all respected.

"About that…" Gene replied sheepishly.

"You're all still here?" Naru asked rudely, book in hand. _'Talk of the Devil! I wonder how they'll react when they find out.' _I thought as I scanned the room. _'Not very well I would think.' _

"My last name is Davis." Gene continued. "And Naru's real name, is not Kazuya Shibuya."

It was then, that hell broke loose.

"What?!" Ayako snapped. Everyone, excluding me and…Masako?!

"Wait… Masako, you knew this whole time?!" I asked angrily. The other girl just 'huffed' and look away childishly.

"Huh?!" Monk yelled, looking frantically around the room. "Naru, tell us what's going on."

"I would like to know as well." John joined in.

"It isn't any of your business." He said, sitting in his previous spot.

"WHAT?!" Ayako screamed. "What do you mean it's not our business?!"

"While I'm in Japan, my first name is Kazuya and my last Shibuya. That's all that matters." He concluded, opening his book and proceeding to ignore the chaos around him.

"Uhm… I'll explain." Gene offered quietly.

"Please do!" I'm not really sure who said that, since they all seemed to have said it all at once.

"Right." Gene shuffled awkwardly. "Naru came here to Japan, to look for me. Well, to look for my body. Everyone had believed me to be dead, but I had actually been in a coma the whole time." He explained to the rest of them. "In order to escape the press, Naru had to take on an alias." I could see from the looks in their faces, that they were having a difficult time believing the story (much less actually understanding it.)

"I guess that makes sense." Monk commented. "Though I don't understand why he couldn't tell us- Wait!"

"What now?!" Ayako complained rather loudly.

"Eugene Davis!" Monk shouted, pointing at Gene.

"The famous spiritual medium from England…" John whispered.

"WHAT?!" Ayako screamed again.

"So that- that would mean…" Monk mumbled. "That would mean that…" He snuck a glance at Naru who was still reading from his book. "O-O-Ol…."

"Spit it out." Ayako screeched, taking Monk's now lifeless form and shaking it around.

"Oliver Davis." I concluded, happy to get my two cents in. "The ever famous Psychic Researcher, and Bou-san's all time hero!"

'_Take that Masako!' _

"That… makes sense?" John stated, and just like that, it seemed that he was appeased.

"You mean this whole time-" Ayako steamed, stomping her way to Naru.

"Ahahahha… Calm down Ayako." I said, trying in vain to pull her back to her seat.

"That's how it is?" Gene remarked with a sheepish smile.

"If that's about all you people needed, you may all leave." Naru stated, seemingly having finished his book.

"Why I aughta!" Ayako screamed.

"Ahahahahaha…" Gene laughed awkwardly.

"Ol-Ol…."

**~o~o~o~o~ **

In the end, we were able to get everyone safely home.

After having been effectively calmed down by an extra charming Gene, Ayako was sent home. She brought along a lifeless Monk, who was still pretty drunk over the fact that he had worked with his idol. Masako was upset, over god knows what, but she was sent packing soon enough. John on the other hand, after having a quick chat with Gene understood the nature of Naru's situation and accepted it whole heartedly.

Everyone warmed up to Gene pretty quickly. They were all a bit sore about Naru having lied to them the whole time, but they still promised to help with the case. After all, it wasn't like they weren't used to it. Naru had always been the type to hide information from everyone until the last moment.

In the end, Naru was still Naru.

Now it was time to get to work. We were all stored away in separate vehicles, and after picking up Yasuhara, we were prepared to go.

It was going to be our first case with Gene…

**~o~o~o~o~**

Sooner than I thought, we reached our destination. It was a curious looking house, if it could even be called that. It looked completely out-of-place next to the traditional Japanese houses we had passed by earlier. It reminded me more of those big America manors that they showed in those movies. It was big, with lots of windows, and it had an ominous feel to it.

"Does anyone else feel like this isn't going to be a very fun case?" I asked.

"Cases aren't meant to be fun." Naru replied, looking back at me with an extremely annoying look. Annoying, cause it was his usual 'I know better' face.

"But its true Noll, the place is giving off some weird vibes." Gene defended. He was sitting next to me in the back seat.

"That doesn't mean that cases are fun Gene." Naru snapped back.

"Okay kids, come on its time to get down." Monk suddenly announced, after having popped into Naru's open window. "They've come to greet us." He said, pointing at the two girls, in maid uniform, waiting on the front porch.

We made our way to the front door, and were quickly pulled inside by the two maids who introduced themselves as Rin and Ren. They were twins, or at least siblings, with their shared last names and the shared looks. The two led us through a long hallway with various paintings of landscapes and fruit. Even though I've never been in an art gallery before, the hallway certainly felt like one.

Finally we made it to what looks like a living room, probably the size of an entire condo. The middle-aged couple that were sitting on one of the loveseats, stood up as soon as we had come in. If I were to be completely honest, they looked like they had gone to hell and back. Considering their situation, they probably did.

"Good morning." Naru greeted with a short bow. "These are my business associates; I believe I told you about them, in our earlier meeting." The two nodded.

"Of course." The couple bowed back. "My name is Hayashi Jun, and this is my wife Mio." The male said, and both gave another bow.

"We'd like to get started as possible, if you don't mind." Naru asked calmly.

"Of course, please tell us if you need anything, anything at all." The woman said, she had a desperate look in her tired eyes. "Rin, Ren, please go and help them out in whatever way you can. Make sure to show them the rooms that they will be using." She ordered, before sitting down and drinking for a cup that was laid out in front of her.

"Of course." The duo said with a bow. "Did you want us to bring your luggage to your rooms?" They asked in their respective voices, they said it with such sync that it was kinda creepy.

"Actually, if one of you could lead the men back to the van and back to rooms with the outlets." Naru implied.

"Of course." The duo once again said, one of them moved away from the other.

"Monk, John, Yasuhara, go unpack the van." The guys nodded, and made their way back to where we came from.

"Matsuzaki-san and Hara-san follow Ms. Ren around the house, and see if you can get anything." Masako nodded, and Ayako scowled but went along with it. "May we sit?" He now asked, the couple who were still there.

"Please." Mio-san consented. The rest of us, sat down on the spread of couches in the room.

"Mrs. Hayashi, aside from the things that you told us yesterday, is there anything else you would like to tell us?" Naru asked calmly.

"No… I don't think so." She shook her head, staring into the cup that she held tightly between both hands.

"Actually…" Mr. Hayashi began. "Occasionally we'd get notice from the help that a melody would play suddenly in one of the rooms."

"I remember that…" Mrs. Hayashi now agreed with the nod. "Ryoko, our daughter…" she trailed off. "she… would say the same thing."

"What room exactly?" Naru asked. Lin was sitting next to him, recording the conversation using his laptop. I could hear the pitter patter sounds of his keyboard from my seat.

"We could never find out." Mr. Hayashi now said. "Sometimes it was in one of the bedrooms upstairs, and at times downstairs." He said with a sigh. "The story kept changing. One would say it was in one place, while another would say it was in another.

"I see." Gene now said with a 'hmm.'

"But it was always the same melody…" Mrs. Hayashi continued. "Ryoko… describe it like one those lullabies from jewelry boxes." It looked like Mrs. Hayashi would break down any minute, and I was tempted to tell Naru to stop asking questions.

"Did either of you ever hear this sound?" Gene asked. The couple both shook their heads no.

"Is that all?" Naru asked rudely.

"Yes… I think that's about all we know." Mr. Hayashi concluded, letting out a big sigh. They both looked so haggard, and it seemed like they haven't gotten a good night's sleep in ages.

"Do you think you'll find the vile thing that did that to my daughter?" Mrs. Hayashi suddenly asked.

I was almost expecting Naru to say something rude, but instead he just stood up and with a nod he said, "Without a doubt." _'We've just began and already he was so prideful. '_I thought to myself as Naru started to walk up the stairs. Looking back at Mrs. Hayashi, who was gripping her cup just a bit looser, I couldn't help but smile. "If you would excuse us, we need to start setting up." He said, pausing mid climb.

"We'll send up some refreshments later." Mr. Hayashi stated, as he turned to console his wife.

"Sometimes Naru, you say some nice things." I said after having caught up with him. He didn't say anything in back, but I couldn't stop myself from smiling.

"Inside all that coldness is a bright warm light!" Gene suddenly commented from beside me. Suddenly an image of a scowling Naru, being enveloped by light popped into my head. It was difficult to stop the giggles after that.

**~o~o~o~o~**

"Even with that cart it was still back-breaking work just to lug that up the stairs." Monk commented. "This house is way too big."

"But Bou-san…" Yasu spoke from beside him, panting heavily. "This is a mansion…"

"Whatever it's still big." Monk argued, before throwing himself onto a chair. John, as quiet as he usual, was sat next to him and gulping down some orange juice.

"You think that's bad, try walking around the house wearing heels." Ayako grumbled, rubbing her at her now bare feet.

"No one told you to wear such high heels." Monk grumbled, from where he sat.

"Well no one told you to be old." Ayako snapped critically.

"Says the hag." All I could do was laugh awkwardly.

"There's no stopping them is there?" Gene said with a chuckle, I only shook my head in response. "I do think they'd make a good couple though." He commented with a smile.

"What?!" Ayako and Monk yelled at the same time, Gene cringed back.

"Me and this?" Ayako shrieked.

"This old hag?!" Monk screamed.

"Excuse you!" Ayako continued in a terribly loud voice, now glaring at Monk again. "I have men lining up begging to touch my hands. Why would I pick you? I would never pick an old man like you."

"Who said I would want to?" Monk said, with a truly disgusted face.

"Alright… Come on guys break it up." I tried to reason, but it didn't seem like they heard a thing that I said. "Bou-san?" No luck. "Ayako?" Still no luck.

"Mai start setting up the cameras around the house. Take Yasuhara with you." Naru ordered, handing me a map and a notepad with instructions.

"Sure thing boss!" I said, happy to get away from all the screaming. "Come on Yasu! Let's get to it."

"Do you mind if I help out?" Gene suddenly asked.

"Of course not!" I said happily.

"Great! What do we need to bring?" He asked.

"Feel free to use the cart they used to bring the monitors." Naru commented.

"Sure thing!" I looked at Yasu, who was still sitting and staring at the mad 'couple' that was now arguing in front of him. "Yasu!"

"Yes Mai?" And just like that he was next to me.

"Mind helping me out with the mics and things?"

"Ah of course." He groaned.

"I'll be helping out as well!" Gene announced smiling, Yasu stared at him for a good minute, going as far as taking off his glasses and rubbing at his eyes.

"Right…. You're Eugene?" He suddenly mumbled after taking of his glasses and wiping it with a piece of cloth.

"You can call me Gene." Yasu smiled back.

"Yasuhara." He said, offering his hand. "You can call me Yasu."

"Great! Now that we're all acquainted, let's get to packing those cameras!" I exclaimed, eager to do work. After all it's been a while since our last case.

**~o~o~o~o~ **

"Ugh… I completely forgot how tedious this work is." I was sad to say. Since we had no specific lead, we had a lot of rooms to cover. As always we did a reading in each room, and set it up accordingly. Gene who didn't seem to need much tutelage, was a great help, and with Yasu we got things done even faster. Still the set up was taking a very long time.

So far we've covered half of the rooms we were required to set up, and already I was feeling a little fatigue. More so for Yasu, who had helped bring the monitors and all the other equipment to the base. Gene himself seemed to be doing fine, though he would occasionally ask to sit down for a couple of minutes just to rest his legs a bit.

"You know it." Yasu said from beside me. "Still, these things always pull through in the end. Even if most of the time it doesn't do exactly what we need it to." Yasu commented, patting one of the cameras carefully.

"Recording ghost phenomena has always been a bit of a no go." Gene said out of nowhere. "It had its day, at least until people discovered different kinds of manipulation software." He explained. "Now no matter what you record on camera, people will immediately believe that it was fake, or a trick of some kind."

"True." Yasuhara agreed. "For most people, things like spirits don't exist. At least, not in real life, only in movies and stories."

While they continued their philosophical conversation, I couldn't help but look around the room. It was marked as the victim's –Ryoko's- bedroom. It didn't really look too far from my bedroom. There was a bookshelf with various books, and desk table next to it. The bed was covered with a simple blue comforter, and fluffy white pillows. It wasn't extremely big either; the only thing real extravagant was the big flatscreen TV on the wall in front of the bed. Underneath the TV were various game consoles and a variety of CDs and DVDs. There were a total of three doors in the room: one leading outside, one leading to a restroom, and another I assume was to a walk in closet. The room was simple and yet elegant. It also looked very much lived in, so she probably didn't just use this room to sleep in.

But Ryoko isn't average; at least it doesn't seem like it… Not from what I heard so far.

I couldn't imagine a girl my age or at least around my age, to be able to do such a thing as repeatedly make attempts to murder someone.

"Mai, are you ready to move to the next room?" Gene asked.

"Ah yes… Of course! Let's go?" I asked the other two as enthusiastically as possible.

**~o~o~o~o~ **

**Gene's POV**

Mai seemed a bit lost in thought, after we finished setting up Ryoko's room. I guess you could say that it was a very odd case, after all the girl was only 17. In today's day and age, you see all those kind of things occasionally. In the news or in the television, but maybe it's a little too much to be asked whether the girl actually did it or if it was the doing of a spirit of some kind. When you do that, you get to thinking of things like "What ifs?"

Like what if the other people in Mental Asylums were actually very sane, but wretched by a spirit?

I really hope that she's okay. Even though I've never really gotten the chance to know her myself, after spending so long watching all that they do, it's easy to get attached.

It's also very easy to find a connection, as we have very similar powers and from what I've heard, personalities as well.

I never imagined working so closely with so many people like this. For sure, I've done similar work in England, but it was kind of intimidating how the group was so close. Almost like a family. Something that Noll and I was always lacking. We had Martin and Luella, and they loved us to bits, but of course they were busy with their own research and we never got to spend too much time with them. For the longest time Noll and I had each other, and a few people in between. I could see why he was hit so hard about my disappearance. If it had been the opposite I would have been the same.

Working so close with him like this was a big change from our old jobs. Before we would be able to work on a case like this maybe once or twice every now and again, but mostly it was solo work. Since we had different fields of expertise, we always got called on different jobs. Ghost hunting was always Noll's specialty, and he would need my help now and then, but not too often.

Now that I'm back being… alive…I could hardly bear being separated from him.

For sure Noll and I had always been close. But it seems different now. Not only are we connected through blood and through our abilities, but also in our sorrow.

Still, there are things that are keeping us separated. Like the previous telepathy we had, was now gone. We consulted Martin and Luella about it, when they came to visit, but all they told us was that we would have to wait patiently. There was no telling if it would come back to how it was, or not.

Before I knew it, we were back in the base and drinking some fresh orange juice. It seems I was the one who became lost in thought in the end.

"Hara-san, what were you able to get from your walk?" Noll suddenly questioned, it was time to give our reports.

"Just as Eugene-kun said, there is a presence, but it was fleeting." She said neutrally. "It didn't seem to be against me at all, so I was able to get a close look at times. I did notice that it stayed away from rooms where there were men. At least even if it was there, it would leave almost immediately." She explained. "In any of the other rooms, it would stay for a bit, but vanish before I can make a final reading."

"That would explain why I wasn't able to get a final reading." I commented. Of course, if the spirit had a dislike for men, naturally it would do its best to hide from me.

"That is probably true." Masako consented. "From what I could see it was a female, young adult, possibly in her very early twenties."

"I see…" Noll said thoughtfully. For a second I attempted to look into his thoughts, only to end up hitting a wall. The block in telepathy was going to be a real pain. Noll never spoke his thoughts aloud. He had a bad habit of keeping things to himself, until the very end. Of course I never had any problem with our old connection, but now it was easy to understand the frustration the others felt. "Would you like to add anything Matsuzaki-san?"

"Nothing." The other grumbled.

"Yasuhara?"

"I was able to look into it a little last night." Yasu nodded, grabbing a bag and taking out a stack of papers.

"That's a little?" I whispered to myself.

"I looked into the victim, Hiyashi Ryoko." He started. "17 years old, Senior at the local high school. She had a few close friends whom she invited home often." _'Wait… how did he find that out?' _"But she would rarely leave the house to hang out. Her friends describe her as a quiet, smart, elegant, and nice girl. She seemed to live a pretty normal life, disregarding the big house." He casually remarked. "But the thing I thought would interest you the most, was her relationship with the other victim."

"The one she tried to murder?" Mai asked with big wide eyes.

"Yup, Ogawa Fuuji." Yasu, rifled through his stack of papers, before settling on one. "He lives a bit a way from here, but considering the large houses around the area, they're technically neighbors." He said with a shrug. "They go to the same school, but Ryoko's friends say that they didn't really talk. Actually the first time that they were able to talk properly was at a House party that was hosted by one of Ryoko's friends. Supposedly, after that Fuuji visited Ryoko's house often. After that there wasn't a lot that they could tell me. They did say that after having visited Ryoko's house for the first time, Ryoko had come to school the next day declaring that she was in love. Not a few days later..." He stopped, almost dramatically. "Ryoko made her first murder attempt."

"Oh…" I heard Mai say from her spot. I could see the look of focus on the others, as they tried to dissect the information. It was like they had picked up a puzzle piece, without having any idea where to put it.

"But there's more." Yasu continued. "I was able to talk to Fuuji after a bit of a struggle." It was almost comedic how he immediately got everyone's attention. "Fuuji admitted to having his own feelings for Ryoko, but not to the extent of love. He told me, that when she had finally confessed his love to her, he had rejected it. He also said that Ryoko didn't stop at just that, but continued to confess to him repeatedly. Again he said no, and he continued that way for a while. Finally, one day Ryoko declared that if she couldn't have him, then no one could." A few gasped after he said that, but he gave them no time to consider it too much.

"That's…" Ayako started, but didn't continue.

"Yes, but that's not all. After the first attempt, as you know she made continuous attempts and after a while they were forced to send her to an institution."

"It answers a few questions… but brings up quite a lot of new ones." John commented.

"True." Monk said.

"Ah, but one last thing." Yasu announced, bringing out something else from his bag. It was a bit larger, but still paper. From where I was it looked like a copy of a newspaper article. "So I looked into the house's past, and I think I may have found your spirit." He showed the picture of a girl, with a kind smile on her face. Masako gasped.

"That's… I'm almost certain that, that's her." She said quickly.

"Almost?" Monk asked.

"Well, the figure… was a little…" She tried to explain.

"Disfigured?" Yasu asked, and Masako nodded solemnly. "I can only guess that's because she almost succeeded in burning herself and her boyfriend twice."

"Burning…?" Mai asked loudly.

"Yup." From where I sat, the glasses on Yasu's face glint as he moved it up his nose. "Jenny Carter, was her name. She was born in the states but grew up in Japan. She got into her first exclusive relationship, when she turned 21 and that it seems was when all her troubles began. Not a few months after they came out to the public, they had both almost died in a fire accident in one of her family cottages around town. They both escaped with minor difficulties, but after that she was involved in yet another accident with her boyfriend this time involving her brand new car. Again they somehow made it off alive, but with a few scratches and bruises."

"How unlucky…" Masako commented.

"The last accident was what really did her in." Yasu remarked quite crudely. "Yet another burning incident, but this time on a tree house her father had built when she was a child. The house burned to the ground, along with her boyfriend, though yet again she escaped with several burn marks scattered around her body.

"Or maybe not so unlucky." Monk said.

"The following day, after being consumed with sorrow, she hanged herself on the same tree that her tree house was located on." He finished with flair. "From what it says in the article, the people genuinely believed that the two were a perfect pair. Two people that loved each other a lot and it showed when they were together."

"I guess it's kind of connected to what happened with Ryoko…" Mai said with a nod. "I mean they were both in love and…"

"But Jenny wasn't rejected." Ayako argued.

"True… why would Jenny suddenly decide to do such a thing…?" Again with that thoughtful look, it really didn't fit in with her bubbly personality. Though I guess that was a little rude for me to say.

**~o~o~o~o~o~**

**AN: There you go the longest chapter so far, I hope you like it. :D **

**Sorry I couldn't get it up sooner, it took a while to write, and perhaps even longer for me to edit it. **

**Thanks again for all of your support so far, I hope you continue to read the story. **

**Also please review~ I'd love to know what you think. **

JewelRinoa (7/22/14)


	6. Chapter 6: Love Strong part II

**Revived Chapter 6: **_**Love Strong Part II**_

**AN: Welcome back! I'm sorry it took so long (there's an unnecessarily long explanation at the very end, if you're curious as to what I was doing. O.o) **

**BTW: We're back to Mai's POV, but only for a short while. :D I hope you don't mind the quick POV change… Also, sorry this will be mostly talking and brainstorming. **

**Also there may be quite a few typos. But since I wanted to get this up as soon as possible… :/ I might come back later to change that. (depending on how bad it looks the next time I read it.) **

_**Disclaimer: Still not mine ;) **_

**~o~o~o~o~ **

**Mai's POV: **

'_She almost died three times, and then she killed herself…' _

"Still you're right, Mai." Gene suddenly added. "There must be something that connects Jenny and Ryoko." He said with a somber expression. "If in the end, we go with the theory that the reason Ryoko acted like she did, was because Jenny." If I weren't so caught up in thought, I'd probably be happy that Gene was agreeing with me. It's not every day that people do that, I think as I glanced at Naru.

'_Ugh… I swear that face of his.' _

"Did you find anything else in your search?" Naru suddenly asked. Everyone's head snapped at that, except for Yasuhara who was scratching his head.

"Well… I didn't really know that it was Jenny, so I didn't look as deep as I could have." He said with a shrug, Naru nodded.

"Do that." Naru ordered as he stood up.

"Ah, why don't I help out with that?" Gene suddenly stated, standing from his chair as well. Naru nodded once, before turning towards Lin.

"The rest of you can rest for the day. We'll pick up on work tomorrow." He added as he sat on a chair placed in front of the monitors.

"Hmm…" I looked at the others, who were already making their way to the rooms. They were probably tired, what with having to around such a big house. "I'll go make some tea." I said to no one in particular. As I was making my way outside, I glanced back at the room.

Naru and Lin were already making their selves busy in front of the monitors. While Yasuhara and Gene huddled up together around the coffee table. Which was full of papers and books.

'_I'll just make some tea, and then I'll help get some rest myself.' _I think nodding to myself as I gently closed the door.

~o~o~o~o~

**Gene's POV: **

Without really much thought, I quickly volunteered myself to do some research work. After all, there wouldn't be much that I can do. What with the spirit avoiding males…

Wait.

"Why does she avoid men?"

"Huh?" Yasuhara asked, peeking from the book on his lap.

"Why does Jenny not want to appear in front of me?" I asked again, my head spinning wildly. "Why is she intentionally avoiding men?" I murmured. Yasuhara put his book down, thinking thoughtfully as he shifted his glasses higher on his nose.

"Why indeed." I hear Naru whisper, his eyes were blank. From his expression, I could tell he had already thought of this.

"Do you know Naru?" Yasuhara asked curiously. Naru turned back to the monitors and I sighed, that's a No. Yasuhara looked confused and I just shook my head.

"Hara-san was pretty confident about Jenny being the spirit that's roaming the house." I recounted. "If that's the case, then we're missing a part of the story."

"Do you mean that there's something wrong with the data?" Yasuhara asked, he didn't look insulted, instead he looked… worried?

"No… that doesn't mean that what you found was wrong. Not really. I don't think." I tried to explain. "Just that we're missing something." Yasuhara nodded, and I could see that he was thinking hard on something.

"Wait. There was that one thing, but…" Yasuhara started rifling his stack of papers, picking one near the bottom of the stack. "I forgot that I had this, but here." He quickly handed me the paper, and photo-copied on it was a photo of a tree house.

"Is this the tree house?" I asked quietly, touching the grainy black and white picture.

"Yah it was taken by a newspaper company that published the article about Jenny." He said excitedly. "See this?" He pointed to the ground around the tree house.

"Yah?" I asked, not getting his point.

"It's not burned." He explained, as if he was only realizing it himself. "Only the tree house, and if you look closer…The tree itself isn't burnt either…" He explained with wide eyes. "JUST the house."

"Oh…" I exclaimed, finally understanding. "So the fire came from the house itself?" I asked Yasuhara, who nodded.

"I'm not sure if that really changes anything." He said quickly, running a hand through his hair, as he stood to pace. "But… if we think about why she doesn't like males… I mean."

"Then her boyfriend… must not be who the newspaper thought he was?"

"Exactly!" He shouted, suddenly sitting back at where he was sitting before. "It's a long shot, but maybe we should research on the boyfriend as well." I nodded my agreement.

"Did you hear that Naru?" I asked, turning my head towards my twin, who only gave me a short glance. "Okay! So we should investigate him." I paused. "Wait… who exactly is He?" The door suddenly opened, showing Mai with a tray of tea. She looked at me and Yasuhara.

"Did I miss something?" She asked, as she handed everyone tea. As she handed Naru tea, I couldn't help but notice… that she handed Naru tea – I could feel my eye brow lift- first. I also noticed how she paused for a few seconds, as if she was waiting for something.

"We think that the boy-friend, might be the reason Jenny is still lingering around avoiding guys." Yasuhara answered her, his face already buried in the newspaper copy.

"Huh?" Mai asked, looking a bit silly as she balanced the tray while scratching at her chin thoughtfully.

"The spirit avoids men." I started, as Mai handed Yasu his tea. "So I realized something was definitely off, and then Yasu suddenly discovered that the tree house was burned by someone or something, that was already in the tree house at the time of the incident."

"So you're thinking that the guy killed Jenny?" She said, her eyes widening at an impossible rate. I couldn't help at chuckle at that.

"No, we're not sure yet, it's just a theory." I said with a smile, thanking her as she placed a cup in front of me. She immediately froze. "Is there anything wrong?" She suddenly slumped.

"Too good to be true." She grumbled, sitting on the couch with a huff.

"Huh?" I asked, thoroughly confused. I looked around the room, hoping to get an answer. Instead I only got more confused, when I noticed that Naru was smirking as he drank the tea that Mai had made. I looked back and forth between the two. What was going on?!

"Ishikawa Mistuo!" Yasuhara suddenly shouted.

"Who's that?" Mai asked, now the one with the confused look on her face.

"The one and only boyfriend of Jenny Carter." He said with a triumphant smile.

**~o~o~o~o~**

**The next day… **

"Morning!" I could only glare at the person, whoever it was who dared speak so happily. "Whoa! Looks like you guys pulled an all-nighter." The offender, now identified as the long-haired Monk, commented. I could only sigh. We had spent the night researching on the ghost (metaphorically of course, though who knows in this profession) that was Ishikawa Mitsuo. Yasuhara had zoned after a few hours, and had fallen promptly asleep. Lin had gone to the men's bedroom around midnight to sleep, coming back a few hours ago, in order to allow Naru some rest.

Mai, had fallen asleep shortly after we started research, while I had only gotten an hour or so of sleep, before being abruptly woken by previously mentioned long-haired Monk. I wasn't a morning person, but then again neither was Naru. I glanced at Naru, who had also been woken. He had covered himself with his coat, and fallen asleep on his chair. Now he looked as if he had been awake the time. I almost growled at the sight.

Of course, he'd act cool at a time like this. "Aggggh…." I groaned, massaging my temples roughly. Mai who had fallen asleep on the couch, was now also waking up.

"Hey shorty! Wake up!" The Monk said loudly, as he ruffled her hair.

"Huh?" She yawned. "What are you doing in the girls room Bou-san?" She asked with another yawn.

"You have a little drool there." He said with a grin. Mai, quickly shut her mouth and covered it with her hand, she started glaring at him shortly afterwards.

"I do not!" She screamed, loudly.

"Ow…" My sensitive ears….

"Hmmph." Mai said as she left the room. I glanced at the laughing Monk, and sighed again.

"Have you come here for me?" I hear a low voice. I shivered at the sound, who was- Yasuhara. My eyes widened.

"Of course! I was worried when I didn't find you sleeping beside me." Monk exclaimed, rather embarrassingly. _'Sleeping beside who now?!' _

"I'm sorry my love!" Yasuhara then shouted. _'… That escalated rather quickly.' _

"Uhmm…." I try to cut in. "I'm going to go." I said, feeling like I was witnessing something I really shouldn't have.

I exited the room quickly, sighing in relief as soon as the door was closed. As weird as it was, I couldn't help but smile.

I see… If he was with them… "I wouldn't be sad either, Noll."

**~o~o~o~o~ **

By the time I made it back to the base, everyone was already there, and Mai was already handing out her usual cup of tea.

"So did you guys find anything new?" Monk asked.

"I wasn't exactly I awake the whole time." Yasu laughed sheepishly. "But…" He quickly recounted what our newest theory.

"Ah… so you believe that her boyfriend may have something to do with why she is avoiding men?" Monk summarized, and Yasuhara nodded.

"He's male, what else did you expect?" Ayako quipped from where she sat.

"Hmm…" John murmured thoughtfully. "It does explain a few things."

"Right." Masako added. "I also found it a bit odd that Gene was not able to sense anything."

"Is she scared?" Mai suddenly asked. Everyone was staring at her, and suddenly she paled.

"Do you know something?" Naru asked from where he sat. "Did you have another dream?" He looked at her with narrowed eyes.

"Well…" She looked at me. "I thought that now that you're here, I wouldn't get any more of those dreams." She shrugged.

"Ah… so you dreamt about something?" She nodded.

"I didn't realize… I'm sorry. I should have told you sooner." She looked apologetically Naru.

"Oh…" I suddenly understood where she was coming from. "Did you think that I was the one that was showing you the dreams?" She nodded again. "Well in that case, you don't have to worry." I tried to explain. "I was in your dreams, but I wasn't the one who caused them." She looked confused, and I realized that no one had explained it to her. "How about I'll explain later?"

"You will?" She suddenly turned bug-eyed.

"Sure!" I smiled at her.

"So what did you dream about now?" Ayako finally asked.

"It isn't much really." She tried to explain. "It was very dark, and I couldn't see anything." She shook her head. "But I felt…" She narrowed her eyes. "I felt cold, and I think it was raining."

"Rain?" Monk echoed.

"Yah, I felt the drops on my face, as if I had looked up at the pouring rain." She continued. "Then I heard myself… well not me… I heard someone whispering the name Mitsuo."

"Did she sound scared?" I asked.

"No…" She looked as if she suddenly realized. "She sounded… lonely." Her eyes went cloudy, as if she herself was feeling the loneliness that Jenny had felt.

"Lonely." Naru repeated. "Is that all?"

"Uhmm… Oh yah." Mai said her eyes snapping back to its usual bright color.

"That brings us back to square one." I hear John say with a sigh.

"Yah…" Mai murmured, biting at her lower lip.

"Meanwhile, we couldn't find anything about Mitsuo either." I admitted with a sigh of my own, Yasu who was sitting beside me nodded his confirmation.

"We should just do whatever we can do at the moment, at least until we find out more about our spirit." Monk suddenly declared, standing up quickly. "Why don't we work on dispelling Jenny?" He suggested.

"Hmm… you finally said something that I can agree with." Ayako proclaimed quite loudly, standing up herself.

"Then I'll help as well." John added.

"But…" Masako said with a hesitant look. "We don't yet know whether Jenny is the reason that Ryoko ended that way."

"What are you trying to get at?" Ayako grumbled, glaring at Masako who was looking blankly ahead.

"What if she's innocent, and we exorcise her for-" Masako started to explain, before cutting herself off.

'_Ahh… Of course, she's seen spirits all her life. She's experienced herself what spirits are like, and she knows very well that not all of them mean to harm others… But-" _

"Masako-san." I stated before anyone else can point out her weakness. "We can't exactly leave her wandering like this." I tried to say as kindly as I could.

"I-" She looked at me with wide eyes, before nodding. "Of course… Then, I shall show you where she is at." She finally agreed, though I can tell her heart wasn't really in it.

"Mai, tea." Naru asked with his usually nonchalant tone. That was when I realized that he hasn't said much.

"Okay…" She agreed looking a bit lost, and then I realized what Noll might have. It seems Masako isn't the only one who thinks that Jenny should not be exorcised. The question is…

'_Did Noll really notice that?' _I glanced at my twin brother, who was now staring back at the monitors in front of him.

"Well come on, let's get to it then." Monk said with a cheery tone, as he led the others out.

"I think I'll be going around the town a bit. I may be able to get more information about Jenny that way." Yasuhara declared.

"I'll research here." I said to him with a nod, and he only smiled back before exiting with the rest of them.

**~o~o~o~o~o~ **

It didn't take long for Mai to come back with the tea. She passed the tea in the same way she did the night before. Even if Noll was further away she went to him first, and like yesterday she paused for a few seconds before walking away in a huff. I couldn't hear from where I was sitting but she grumbled to herself as she handed Lin's tea. Finally she handed mine and just like yesterday she flinched when I thanked her.

'_What an odd routine.' _I couldn't help but think, amusedly.

"Here?!" I hear the loud voice of Ayako. Of course she wasn't in the room; I looked at the monitor where the others were being shown.

"Yes, this is where she is now." I heard Masako's low voice as she herself entered the room after Ayako.

"Hmmph." Ayako started. "I'll handle this." She was dressed in traditional Miko clothing, and she had with her a small potted plant. I watched interestedly as she did her chant. But just then Masako said.

"She's gone."

"What?!" Ayako shrieked.

"She left." Masako quickly exited the room, quickly followed by the others. After a few minutes, they were once again visible on one of the monitors.

"I'll do it this time." Monk stated, cutting in front of Ayako, but just as he was about to start his chant…

"Ah... She's in the next room." Masako said as she again raced out of the room.

"Wait, are you serious?!" Monk complained, before following after her, as soon as they were in the next room, John opened his bible.

"Our Father who art in Heaven..." He started, before frowning. "I- I don't sense…"

"She has moved on the other side of the house." Masako stated. We continued to watch as the group ran wildly around the house.

"What does that mean?" I hear Mai asked from behind me.

"It means… Mai." Naru stood from his chair and pulled on his jacket. "That we won't be able to exorcise her." He explained. "Lin." He called, and the other man took of his headphones and with a nod followed Naru outside.

"Not able to?" Mai echoed, as she looked to my direction.

"There is a way." I said thoughtfully. "But we'd have to find something that would distract her long enough."

"Oh." She said simply.

"Yah…" I replied, looking down at the carpet.

"_Thud!" _I hear a large sound, like something had fallen-

"Mai!" I shouted, as I quickly ran to where the girl had fallen. I could hear the door slam open, and Naru walking back in. He had a strange look on his face as he kneeled down next to me.

"What happened?" He asked with a snappy tone, but the strange look was gone.

"She-" I paused, as I tried frantically to arrange my thoughts in order.

"Gene!" Naru said in an irritated voice.

"She fell." I finally said. "She just fell." I looked back to the prone figure on the floor, checking her pulse and sighing in relief. "She's okay." I whispered to Naru.

"Naru." Came another voice, this time Lin's. He was looking intently at the monitors in front of him.

"Ah… Ow…" I hear a soft mutter behind me. On the monitors were a distressed Monk and John as they fluttered around Masako and Ayako. Both of whom laid stiffly on the floor. "Agh..."

"Mai." I looked behind me to see Mai rubbing at the back of her head.

"Are you okay?" I asked worriedly. She stared at the two of us, her eyes furrowed, but she didn't say anything.

"Matsuzaki-san? Hara-san?" I hear John's voice from the speakers. I broke away from Mai's odd stare, and glanced quickly at the monitor. The other two seemed to have woken now as well.

"Oi…" I hear Monk's worried voice. "Are you two okay?" The girl's did not answer. "Did you hit yourself too hard or something?" But still there was nothing. "Come on; let's get back to the base." Monk suggested, but the other two didn't even flinch. I looked back at Mai, who still had a confused look on her face as she looked in between the two of us.

'_What's happening here?!' _

**~o~o~o~o~o~ **

**AN: Yup, so sorry it took so long. O.O The next chapter I promise will be even longer than this, and it will come faster. I'll try my hardest. I swear **

_**For those who are curious, as to why I may suddenly leave on an unexpected hiatus. It will be because I'm juggling two hobbies at once. That's not an excuse, of course. I'm just saying that it will happen. I'll try my best to balance myself. :D But if I should disappear unexpectedly, know that I'll be back. I just don't know when. **_

**I hope you liked the chapter, sorry if it was a little dry. :D **

**Tell me what you think in the review section! I'd really love to know. **

**JewelRinoa **


	7. Chapter 7: Love Strong part III

**Revived Chapter 7: **_**Love Strong Part III**_

**AN: There were a few questions about what exactly happened to the girls in the last chapter. :D I didn't answer them (sorry T.T) because this chapter should answer what it is that happened. **

**BTW: BE WARNED XD Many Many Line Breaks up ahead. Also typos, a lot probably, since I only read through it once. O.O [Sorry]**

**~o~o~o~o~o~ **

**Gene's POV**

"So what exactly happened?" I asked John and Monk as soon as they were settled. I chanced a glance at the girls, all of whom were watching everyone else in the room with creepy stares.

"They just fainted out of nowhere." Monk tried to explain.

"Perhaps they have been possessed?" John suggested.

"All at once?" It wasn't that much of a surprise that someone in the crew had been possessed. But three at the same time was a bit rare, even with the job risk.

"I-.." Monk looked worriedly at the girls. Naru and Lin walk quickly into the room, cutting of his sentence. "Where did you guys go?" He asked instead.

"We went to talk to Mr. and Mrs. Hayashi." Naru approached Mai, kneeling in front of her. It was then that he proceeded to wave his hand in front of her face. There was no outward reaction. "This is the first time this happened."

"You mean this didn't happen to Ryoko?" Monk looked even more worried.

"No." Naru finished his experiment, standing gracefully with his eyes trained at the lifeless forms of his friends.

"Do you think that perhaps another spirit caused this?" John asked his eyes also clouded with worry.

"I-" I cut in. "If there had been another spirit, either me or Hara-san would have noticed immediately." I looked to Naru for confirmation, but he wasn't looking at me.

"It's not possession." He said simply. "If it was, then Gene would see something…" I look to the others and shook my head. "No, instead of possession…" He trailed off.

"Ah!" John jumped from his seat. "I've seen this before!" He approached the girls quickly. "Kids from the church…" He touched the forehead of girl closest to him. "The theory that people are more likely to see ghost whilst they are children… A branch of that theory…" He continued, pausing occasionally in order to feel the forehead of the girls. "Is that they are also more susceptible to its influences…" He paused again. "They're all a bit warmer than usual."

"A fever?" I asked.

"Occasionally, we'd get a call in order to perform an exorcism for a child." He turned towards us. "But sometimes we'd find that there was no spirit to dispel. When that happens, we'd rush the kid to an... An ice bath!"

"An ice bath?" Monk asked with an exasperated look.

"We do that to wash away remnants of the spirit that 'greeted' the child." John responded, pushing up the cuffs of his long sleeve.

"Greeted?" I'm not too sure that I had any idea what he meant with that.

"It's a superstition that has rooted itself into south-eastern countries." Naru explained, as John ran out of the room. "I suggest that you follow John's lead." He added as lifted Mai, gently and carefully into his arms, before gesturing towards the other two girls. I could only nod, as I tried to carry the girl closest to me as carefully and as gently as Naru carried Mai.

~o~o~o~o~o

"Is there anything else?" The twin-maids asked quietly, they looked as spooked as they sounded. I looked at the bags of ice that was on the floor on the large bath. "We've-" one of them tried to say. "The temperature in the room is currently at its highest, and we prepared the water to be in the coldest temperature possible." They explained in their odd synchronized way. "The Ma'am's have all been changed to thick robes, as instructed." They motioned to the bath, where a stack of towels and blankets were folded. "The towels have also been prepared."

I shook my head. "No, there's nothing else. Thank you very much for your help." I bowed, as they bowed back.

"Of course, if you would excuse us." They bowed again, and exited the room looking stiffer than ever before.

"Are you guys ready?" Monk asked, throwing bag after bag of ice, into the already freezing tub. John came into the room, carrying Hara-san who like the other two was wearing a dark robe that was tied tightly at the waist. If it wasn't such a serious situation I'd probably think about how much she looked different from the usual. Wide eyes blank and hair disheveled, not wearing her traditional clothing.

"Okay..." John said quietly to himself, as he slowly brought Masako into the cold water. I watch closely as Masako was finally dipped inside. It was hard to bite back the relief of seeing the little tremor that ran along her body. Whatever it is that we were doing, it seemed to be working. When Masako was finally situated in the bath, Monk quickly poured a bucket of water on her head.

"Ah!" Masako gasped loudly, her teeth chattering. "W-Wha-ts goi-ng on?" She said through a few stutters, I heard everyone else in the room (except for the leftover girls) give a relieved sigh.

"Bring her out of the tub." Monk ordered, holding up a big towel. John did so, handing Masako to Monk before opening another towel and placing it on top of her head.

"I'll get Ayako-san." John said with a nod, while Monk led Masako to the other side of the bathroom.

"Stay here Masako, try to warm yourself okay?" He said gently. "We'll explain everything later." There was a short nod from under the blankets as she did what she was told, teeth still chattering and body shivering.

The process was repeated, and Ayako had now been placed in the tub. It took a few buckets of water to wake her up, but when she finally did-

"Wh-at?! What the- he-ll do you think you-re doing?!" She screamed in her usual way, teeth chattering aside. Instead of a relieved sigh, a chorus of separated laughter and amused looks were thrown around.

"Yah, yah." Monk said, wrapping one of the big towels around her after she was helped up.

"Please try to keep yourself warm for now." John said, adding the second towel on her head. "We'll explain shortly." He led, Ayako where the mountain of blankets – that was Masako- was sitting, before going back to the room to fetch Mai.

"It's working." Monk said with a sigh, as he waited for John.

When John entered with Mai, only then did I realize the flushed fever-like look on her face. Her eyes were still blank, but behind it you can see that she was taking in everything that she saw. We repeated the process again, and before long Mai found herself in the tub of ice water. Everyone hold their breaths for a little tremor or gasp, but none came. Monk poured his bucket of water, but still no change. Bucket after bucket, and yet nothing.

"Mai!" Monk started to shake her body desperately, as John took over pouring cold water on her head. "Wake up! Mai!"

"Y-ou shou-ld take her out." Ayako said from under her towel. "She's been in the water for too long." She explained. Monk quickly lifted her body out of the tub and wrapped her in multiple towels, using one to cover her hair.

"I think…" I said quietly, staring at the now pale faced Mai. "-atleast, we broke her fever." John nodded towards me, and ran back into the room.

"It seems that Mai had spent a longer time in proximity with the spirit." Naru stated, eyes narrowed and arms crossed at his chest. John came running back in, his usual exorcism apparel and items all prepared.

"Kazuya is right." He said, as he sprinkled water from his flask. "If that's the case, then there is a spirit…" He used his thumb to draw a cross on her forehead, with more holy water. "- though not necessarily the spirit, but a part of it. It's still insider her." I watched carefully as John continued his routine. Again, everyone waited in bated breath, as we watched John closely.

There was a tiny flinch, and for a second Mai stared. Not with the blank eyes she had been wearing for the past couple of minutes, but with confused bright eyes. The next second, however, she collapsed in what was probably exhaustion. Monk caught her quickly, and started to rub the towel that was on top her shoulders, when he realized that like the others she was also shivering (sleeping or not.)

"It's okay." John said opening and closing his eyes. "She's fine now.

**~o~o~o~o~o~ **

After being ordered to rest, the girls were now being taken into their sleeping clothes by the twins, in their newly reheated room. Once all three of them were situated, the only thing left to do was to figure out what really happened. It's true that John and Naru (and probably Lin as well) both seemed to have reached an understanding, but the rest of us (namely me and Monk, and Yasuhara too) still had no idea.

"So what happened?" I asked, as soon as everyone was seated.

"It's a medical phenomenon." Naru explained. "There's been countless of reports all over the world, though it is more common in Asia." He continued. "Just as John explained, a child would get into a state of shock. The child would then be brought to the hospital, once the parents realize that the child was stricken with fever. The doctor would administer an ice bath, in order to rid the child of any disease or infection, as well as break the fever. There are many theories about why this happens." He paused, looking up to the ceiling before staring directly at me. "But one superstition is that, the child was greeted by a spirit. The spirit carried with it, evil and passed it to the child causing the child to get sick." He looked at the others. "The scientific theory however, is that the child was forced in contact with an older adult, who was immune to a certain disease. The contact then allowed the disease to intrude upon the child, and the child would get sick."

"The question is." Monk cut him off. "Why did it happen to the girls?" He looked around, to find his answer.

"If we suppose the superstition is true." John said quietly. "Then that would mean that they were faced with a spirit that held more evil than the usual." He bit his lip.

"I thought Jenny wasn't a bad spirit?" Monk questioned.

"That does not mean, that the emotions surrounded her are all that good." Naru, stated. "Suppose she has yet turned into an evil spirit..."

"Then that means she's going to turn very soon…" I finished, the feeling of terror rising within me.

"She can't be that bad?" Monk tried to ask desperately.

"Maybe not completely," John answered with a grimace. "-but there is something about her that the girls were specifically adverse to."

The door of the room opened quickly, and I tried not groan in despair. _What was it now? _But rather than bad news…

"Did I miss something?" Yasuhara asked, carrying with him a stack of files and paper. Monk sighed, and motioned him to sit.

"Might as well bring the others too." He said with a sigh, before he himself went out to fetch the girls.

**~o~o~o~o~o~ **

Everything was explained after Yasuhara, and then the girls where situated in the base. The girls were tightly huddled in thick blankets, but nevertheless listened carefully.

"Rather than answering one of our questions, this seemed to only add more…" John concluded with a sigh.

"Does that mean we're back to where we started?" Mai asked quietly.

"Well not exactly." Yasuhara stated. "Jenny Carter, was a student, or rather an apprentice." He said rifling through the notes he had taken the night before. "She was an apprentice at the same newspaper company that Ishikawa Mitsuo worked in, and here." He placed a piece of paper on the table. "Together they wrote this article."

"What does an article have to do with-" Ayako started.

"It's an article, about how they fell in love." Yasuhara finished.

"Whoa!" Monk said with a whistle. "Nice."

"Wait, where did you find that?" Mai asked.

"Actually, the company had given me a book of articles." He explained, bringing out a big binder full of paper in plastic sheets. "That had to do with Jenny Carter." He shrugged. "It was the first suicide in this town, so it was a very popular ordeal."

"How… morbid." Masako said muffling her gasp with her blanket. I couldn't agree more.

"Yup, so a lot of the stuff was kept in the public library, where most of the books and stuff from their company had been brought. It was never published, but it was what got Jenny her apprenticeship." He explained, picking up the paper yet again. "It's in Jenny's perspective. Supposedly she wrote it, whilst Ishikawa-san edited."

"We start our story one sunny Wednesday morning." He read.

**~o~o~o~o~o~ **

"_It's nice to have you back Miss Jenny!" The housekeeper said excitedly. "How was your trip to the US?" She asked as she handed the luggage bags back to another helper. _

"_Oh, but you wouldn't believe how beautiful it was Emi!" Jenny replied just as excited. "This time we visited Washington D.C. and I was able to see the Cherry Blossom trees that were planted there." _

"_Cherry blossoms?" Emi asked with a confused look. _

"_Yup!" Jenny confirmed as she skipped up the stairs to her room. "They were planted there as a gift a long time ago!" I sighed dreamily. "One thing's for sure; it prevented me from being too homesick." Emi could only smile, as she chased after her mistress. _

"_I'm sure it did." She said with a fond look. _

**~o~o~o~o~o~ **

"So they met the day Jenny came back?" Mai asked.

"It certainly seems that way." Yasuhara confirmed with a shrug.

**~o~o~o~o~o~ **

"_Welcome." A young man said politely, a graceful bow following his words. "It's very nice to meet you." He said with a gentle smile. "My name is Ishikawa Mitsuo." _

"_Jenny Carter." A petite blond lady bowed back. "It is a pleasure to meet you." She smiled widely. _

**~o~o~o~o~o~ **

"But that wasn't the first time that we met." Yasuhara read.

"It isn't?" Mai asked in surprise.

"No, the real beginning," Yasuhara continued. "- was the day before I left for my trip to America."

**~o~o~o~o~o~ **

"_The Cherry blossoms are just about to bloom completely!" Jenny exclaimed loudly. "Do we really have to leave for America tomorrow?" She asked her parents, who only smiled at her dotingly. _

"_The place we're going will have Cherry Blossoms honey." Her mom said in a soothing tone. _

"_There are Cherry Blossoms in the States?" Jenny asked in surprise, as she tried to mask her interest. _

"_Yup, they were planted there long ago." Her father explained with a smile. From their view you could almost see the glitter of curiosity in Jenny's eyes. _

"_But it won't be the same." She crossed her arms. _

"_We'll be back before the Cherry Blossoms here are gone." Her mom reasoned. _

"_Then I guess its okay…" Jenny said carefully. "But can I at least travel around town a little bit?" She asked, big blue eyes pleading. "Just to see if a Cherry blossom has bloomed early." Her parents looked at each other and sighed. _

"_Just be sure to be back before the sun is down. You still need to pack your things." Her mom resigned. Jenny screamed in excitement. _

"_Thank you!" She ran up to both parents and kissed their cheeks before running out of the house. _

_~o~o~o~o~o~_

"_Hmm…" Jenny was still walking around town. It's been at least an hour since she had left her house, but she had yet seen any Cherry Blossom trees in bloom. "I guess I should rest for a bit." She said to herself. She looked around to find that she was at the town park. _

"_A tourist?" A voice asked from behind her. Jenny turned to see a handsome man in his early 20s. He had short black hair, accompanied with deep light brown eyes. _

"_No, I'm Jenny Carter." She said with a bow. "I live at an estate further north. It's nice to meet you." The man bowed back. _

"_Ishikawa Mitsuo. It's nice to meet you." He said with a gentle smile. "If not a tourist, then you must be searching for something." _

"_How did you know?" She asked, with a tilt of her head. _

"_You were going around all over the place, and made no move to talk to anybody." He shrugged. "Plus you seemed to be marveling at the trees." _

"_How smart!" Jenny exclaimed. Her teeth showing as she smiled wildly at the man. _

"_I just like observing people." He said modestly, and a small smile. "So what were you looking for?" _

"_I was looking for a Cherry Blossom tree in bloom." Jenny sighed to herself. Mitsuo only tilted his head. _

"_Why don't I help you look for one?" He offered with a smile, and a bright smile was given in return. _

"_Would you?" Jenny asked, blue eyes shining brightly._

"_Sure." _

_And so they looked. Meanwhile they talked of meaningless subjects in order to occupy themselves._

"_It's getting dark." Jenny stated with a frown. Mitsuo looked at her thoughtfully. _

"_Is it time to go back?" _

"_I'm afraid so." She sighed. _

"_Well…" He trailed. "How about we continue the look when you come back?" He suggested. _

"_By that time the Cherry Blossoms would all be in bloom." She said with a confused look. _

"_Then we can look at them together." He finished with a smile. _

"_Together?" She echoed. _

"_Yup!" And they both smiled at each other in happiness. _

**~o~o~o~o~o~ **

"They certainly sound happy." Ayako said with a huff.

"Then why…" I heard Mai mumble to herself.

"I…" Yasuhara, who seemingly read ahead, stuttered in a grave voice. "The third time we met…" He read sadly. "We didn't meet at all."

**~o~o~o~o~o~ **

_A young lady was waiting in front of the old town park. She stood facing away from the beautiful Cherry Blossom tree. _

"_He's running pretty late." Jenny murmured to herself. "I hope he's okay." She looked to the park entrance in anticipation. "I didn't get the time wrong… did I?" she opened up the old pocket watch that was given to her by her father. __**5:30 p.m**__. "No… this was the time we agreed to meet." _

"_It's getting cold." She shivered, tightening the scarf around her neck. _

_**6:00 p.m. **_

"_Mitsuo… Are you alright?" She asked as she felt the slow *drip drop* of rain on her face. The dark sky had gone cloudy, no stars in sight. _

_**6:30 p.m. **_

"_Please be alright." She stood straight forward, still facing away from the Cherry blossom tree. The wind was starting to get colder, and her clothes were drenched by the continuing storm. _

_**7:30 p.m. **_

"_I should probably sit down." Jenny said to herself, as she tried to steady her shaking legs. "But he might not see me… No I have to stay here. This was where we planned to meet." _

_**9:30 p.m. **_

"_Perhaps he was involved in some kind of accident?" She asked herself quietly. *Cough* *Cough* "Then he'll send someone for me, so that I can go to where he is... I have to stay." _

_**11:00 p.m. **_

"_My Lady!" A Housekeeper by the name of Emi screamed in shock, dropping the umbrella she brought with her. "We've been looking everywhere for you!" She scolded, as she ran to her master. _

"_Mitsuo…?" Was the only reply she received. _

"_How cold… So very cold…" She shivered. "Mitsuo…" Jenny called, as she felt the tiny drops of the dying rain on her face. _

**~o~o~o~o~o~ **

"Oh…" Mai mumbled to herself.

"Wasn't that your dream?" I asked her quietly, no one else in the room seemed to be able to speak.

"Y-yah…" I wasn't so sure that was because of the cold of the ice bath anymore. Not when I saw the shinning glimmer of tears that were falling from Mai's eyes.

**~o~o~o~o~o~ **

**AN: Please wait patiently for the next chapter. :D I'm sorry that they take so long. Nevertheless I hope you enjoyed this one. It was indeed longer than the previous, (though to be honest not as much as I had hoped.) **

**Thank you so very much for all your support and feedback. I finally understand what other authors meant when they said that you guy's feedback is what fuels their writing. That's what I feel as well. :D I can't help but want to write when I read a review or see that there are more people following the story. **

**With that said, please keep on giving me your feedback. It doesn't matter whether it is good or bad, I'll take them. So that I can grow into a better writer. :D **

**So please Review ahead! **

**JewelRinoa 8-24-14**


	8. Chapter 8: Love Strong Part IV

**Revived Chapter 8**_**: **__Love Strong Part IV_

_AN: I would just like to personally thank each and every one of you! For following and or favorite-ing my story, I owe you guys a great deal. And most of all, I thank those who are kind enough to leave me a message in the form of a review : D. Please continue to support my story, and have a nice time reading. _

_**Disclaimer: Ghost Hunt is not mine ;)**_

_**~o~o~o~o~o~ **_

**Mai's POV**

"And that was it."

"Doesn't sound like much of a love story."

"She wrote it before she got her happy ending."

_So many voices… Who are they? My mom… and dad? No… Maybe… Agh… My head hurts! _

"Gah!" I screamed out loud, when the pain became too much to take. "It hurts… It hurts!" I clenched my fingers around my hair and started to pull. "No! Stop it! Please!"

"Mai?!" _More voices… Are they here to save me? _

"H-help!" I screamed again. "It hurts… My head…"

"Mai! Stop that!" _They sound so far away… Are they leaving?! _

"Don't leave! Please, help me!"

"Mai…"

"Who is this?! Please help me! Please!" No reply. _There's no one… I'm… alone… _I could no longer feel my hands tugging at my hair, it was dark… so dark. So painful.

"Help… please…" I begged one final time, hoping that someone would hear my plea.

**~o~o~o~o~o~ **

**Gene's POV **

I honestly don't know what to think about Jenny's story. It wasn't the end of it, we were still missing something important, but what?

"I'll find my happy ending. In fact, I'm looking at it right now." Yasuhara read. "And… that was it." He said quietly.

"That doesn't sound like much of a love story." Ayako scoffed.

"She wrote it before she got her happy ending." He said in reply, as he pushed his glasses further up his nose.

All was shattered at the first scream.

"Gah!" All focused their attention to the Mai. Who was now trying to pull her hair out of her head. "No! Stop it!" Monk approached her at once, while the rest of us remained frozen in our seats. "Please!"

"Mai!" He tried to steady her by holding her shoulders but she thrashed around, her eyes wide and frantic. The odd thing was, it didn't look like she saw Monk there at all.

"Here… save" She whispered to herself. "H-help!" She said through gritted teeth. "My head…" She pulled harder. "It hurts!"

"Mai! Stop that!" Ayako jumped at her quickly, and tried to pry Mai's hand out of her hair.

"Far… leaving?" I caught between whispers. "Don't leave me!" She started clawing at Monk who was trying his hardest to hold her down.

"Ow!" He cried, I could see an angry red gash on the back of his hand. "A little help guys!"

"Don't leave… Please… Help me." It looked like she was about to cry.

"Mai…" I went over immediately, holding one of her hands down. From the Mai's other side I see Naru holding her other hand tightly.

"Who is this…?" Her shoulders shook as if sobbing. "Please help me…" Naru lifted one of his hands, as soon as he noticed that she was no longer struggling. He patted her hair gently. "Please…" Her body deflated, and her eyes closed. Naru's eyes narrowed. "Help… Please." She whispered as slipped further into sleep.

"What the hell just happened?" Ayako broke the silence, looking as infuriated as a Mama bear who had just witnessed someone harming her cub.

"A dream?" John suggested, as he stood from where he had been holding down Mai's feet.

"No…" Masako said quietly from where she stood. After seeing the look of horror on her face, only then did I realize.

"She's been…" My eyes widened at the sight.

"… possessed." Naru finished abruptly.

"What do we do now?" Yasuhara was the one who broke the silence this time, as he collapsed onto the floor in front of Mai.

"Should we exorcise her?" Monk was silently nursing the scratch that he had gotten from Mai.

"We could try?" John looked to Naru.

"Not all of her is there." Masako sighed. "She split herself." She flinched.

"Is that even possible?" Monk asked as he was offered a napkin and a band aid by Ayako.

"I can still feel her around the house, in fact she's at the room next to ours." Masako said with closed eyes.

"It's the same one?"

"Definitely." She stated after opening her eyes again.

"She's only holding one part of Mai's body, but she cannot possess her completely. Since she is…" She paused. "-incomplete." That was then I noticed.

"How do you know that?" Ayako asked with a frown. I looked at Mai again, she was the same as always but there was a shadow that surrounded her head.

"This is the first time I've been able to look at her spirit up close." I frowned. "Just like Hara-san stated, she's not a bad spirit." I said after seeing the faded but somehow still bright light that was Jenny Carter.

"Not a bad-" Ayako tried to argue.

"But she's surrounded by so much sorrow." Masako cut her off. I nodded my confirmation. The light was being eaten away slowly but surely by what looked like dark worms, and being replaced with a creepy shade of black.

"Mai will be fine, and so will Ryoko." Naru concluded. "As long as we give Jenny what she wants." He said confidently. It was easy to see where he was going.

"Her happy ending." I finished.

I could see the looks of astonishment around everyone in the room.

"A cleansing?" John said thoughtfully.

"A cleansing." Naru repeated.

"But we don't know what happens in the end." That was a valid point. "And why Jenny reacted that way in Ryoko's body." Yasuhara rubbed at his temples.

"There's only two possible reasons." Naru said simply.

"Oh?" Ayako crossed her hands at her chest. "What would they be?"

"Either Ishikawa had to do with his own death, or Jenny was the one that caused it all." He smirked.

**~o~o~o~o~o~ **

"Is everything ready?" Naru asked calmly, as we stood outside the manor.

"Hey but…" Everyone looked at Yasuhara. "Who's Mai's Mitsuo?" Naru looked at Yasuhara with narrowed eyes.

Monk sped to the younger man, and stifled any more comments by block the younger's mouth. "Now, now my young pupil…" Yasuhara looked at him through adoring eyes.

A muffled "Yes sensei?" was heard through Monk's hands.

"You still have a lot to learn." Monk shook his head.

"Wouldn't it be Naru?" I commented and as soon as I finished was dragged off by Yasuhara and Monk.

I looked up to see Yasuhara do that creepy thing with he does with his glasses, _how does he get them to glint like that? _Both men huddled around me and whispered. "You have much to learn."

"Eh?!" They released me quickly.

_What just happened? _

"Once again, has everything been settled?" Naru asked impatiently. For some reason Naru looked self-conscious. _Is he embarrassed that he would be the one Mai would be in love with?_

"Yup!" John and I said at the same time. I looked at Naru again, but he averted my gaze. _Or is it that he doesn't think that it would be him? _

"Now… we're just playing the waiting game." Monk said cryptically. I followed his gaze which landed on a still unconscious Mai.

**~o~o~o~o~o~ **

We were all waiting at our respective places, when Mai finally woke up.

"Hey guys…" She murmured sleepily, she looked around the her before blushing intensely. "Why are you all looking at me like that?" She had been placed on a bench.

"How are you feeling?" Ayako asked her.

"Fine…" Mai responded with a confused look. "Why didn't you guys wake me up?" She looked at Monk who just shrugged. "Did I miss something?" She asked again.

"Not really." I answered, vaguely.

"What's happening?" Her voice was quite as she looked around the area. Her eyes landed on Naru. "Naru… where are we?"

"Nothing Mai, you just fell asleep." He answered in his usual nonchalant tone. I guess he wasn't really lying. "We're at the town park."

The same park where Mitsuo and Jenny had first met was unmentioned. It had gone through some reconstruction a few years ago, but no trees where cut down.

"Oh…" Mai furrowed. "I'm sorry, I don't think I dreamt about anything that would help-" She paused, and her eyes twitched. "Why are we here?" She stared intently at Naru who looked as cool as a cucumber.

_He's really good at acting like nothing happened. _One of my eye brows lifted unheeded.

"Is there something wrong?" She looked worried. "You're all... stiff." With that comment I couldn't help but chuckle. _Maybe not so good after all. _"Gene?" She looked at me now, her eyes narrowed. She flinched. "So nothing happened?"

I shook my head. "Nope." Mai turned back to Naru, eyes downcast and shoulders shaking.

"Mai?" Monk tried to approach her, but she slapped his hand away.

"Are you seeing her again?" She asked in a weak tone.

"Her?" Naru asked, with a neutral tone. I could almost see the gears in his mind, rapidly digesting the new information.

"The girl…" She stared at Naru with sorrow-filled eyes. "Please don't…" Suddenly she threw herself at Naru. "Stay with me…" Her eyes were gleaming with unshed tears. "Please!" She begged, her shoulders shaking with hidden sobs. Naru's eyes seem to almost soften at that. "You promised…" In another abrupt movement she flinched away from him again. "W-what… promise?" She asked herself, her eyes as frantic as before. She seemed incredibly confused about what she was saying.

Naru moved to console her quickly, petting her on the head. It seemed to work. She grabbed the hand carefully and held it in between her own hands. "Promise…" She whispered. "When we first met, the Cherry Blossoms were in bloom." She said quietly. "Weren't they?" She asked him quietly.

'_In bloom?' _

"At the school!" She said excitedly. "That day the Cherry Blossoms were blooming." Naru looked at her with a smirk.

It took me a while, before realizing. _'Her memories… their memories, are mixed together…'_

"That's true." He replied, and Mai grinned from ear to ear.

"My parents wanted me to go to America." She said nonchalantly. "But I wanted to see the Cherry Blossoms." Naru nodded. "I had to leave, but I met you!" She sounded so… innocent. "Then…" She seemed to falter. "Then-"

"You came back." Naru said taking a gamble.

Mai seemed to mull it over. I held my breath, i_f she realizes-_

"Oh yah!" She said chuckling. "Then we went to see the Cherry Blossoms together." She paused again, and suddenly there was a fire in her eyes. "Y-you…" She stuttered, glaring at Naru with what I identified as hateful eyes.

Everyone immediately prepared for the worst, but before anyone could act Mai flinched again. Her features rearranged into a soft and pleasant expression.

"I love you." She said with a gentle smile. From where I stood I could see Naru's eyes flinch the tiniest bit, before he smiled one of his charming smiles. Everyone (including me) was shocked by Mai's change of mood, as well as Naru's out of character smile. "You love me too right?" She asked with wide pleading eyes, but before Naru could reply she changed mood again. "D-don't answer that." Her breathing suddenly spiked, and her breath came out in shallow gasps. "I'm sorry… Just please…don't…" She straightened herself, and ruffled her hair. She looked just as confused as everyone else. "I'm thirsty… Is there anywhere we can get drinks?"

"There's a vending machine a little further back." Ayako said in concern. "Why don't I show you?" She smiled softly. Mai nodded slowly, and followed Ayako with her head down. I watched as they got further and further away.

"Whew…" I sighed in relief, as the breath I had been holding was finally released. "What was that?" I asked Naru, who was still standing there, except now with a confident smirk.

"Someone's a bit too happy about being Mitsuo…" Monk whispered next to me, so that only I can hear. Naru looked at the two of us suspiciously before fixing his cuffs.

"So what just happened?" I asked when it seemed like I could no longer get anything out of Monk.

"That means…" Naru said dramatically, pausing for effect. "That Jenny was the one who killed Mitsuo."

"How do you figure?" John who was sitting at a bench across us asked.

"I felt it…" Masako who had been quiet the whole time, spoke up. "She became unstable as soon as she saw Naru." Her eyes were furrowed in concentration. "There were a lot of mix feelings… She was happy one moment, sad the next. At one point, she even expressed incredible murderous intent."

"So she really was planning to kill him?" Yasuhara asked, from next to John.

"It seemed that way." She responded quietly. Even knowing Jenny's supposed past, that was still a bit hard to swallow.

"Jenny was in love with Mitsuo, from the very start." Having finished fixing his cuffs, Naru sat down on the bench. "But Mitsuo only saw Jenny as a friend." He looked around with serious eyes. "On the day that they were supposed to meet to look at the Cherry Blossoms, there's a big chance he was out with the 'girl' Mai was talking about."

"What girl?" I asked. Lin handed Naru a file.

"Ishikawa Mitsuo was the son of owner of the CEO of the town Newspaper Company." He handed me the file.

"Ah…" Yasuhara looked at the paper with what looks like familiarity. It was a stocks report, or at least it seemed like one.

"Jenny Carter." Naru gave me another file. "Was the daughter of the richest man in town." This time it was a newspaper article with the headlines _'Carter helps failing company!' _

"I see!" Yasuhara scuffled towards me and looked over the papers. "Her father used his influence…"

"-to threaten Mitsuo to stay with Jenny. Or at least that's the most likely outcome." Naru finished for him, neutral look back into place. _'Sigh… he really should stop hiding things until the last minute.' _

That was when I remembered Mai's pleading look when she begged Naru not to answer her question.

"Mitsuo loved someone else…" I said aloud, and Naru nodded. "… and Jenny knew."

"That's what pushed her over the edge. So far down that she killed…" Monk said pityingly, as he sighed in frustration. He straightened up after seeing the slow approaching Mai and Ayako. From where I stood Ayako looked a little haggard, but Mai seemed to be just fine. "What happened?" He asked concernedly, looking at Ayako's messy hair and crumpled blouse.

"Nothing really, just asked Ayako a few questions." Mai smiled widely as she handed Naru a canned drink. Everyone froze at the seemingly innocent remark. "Right?" She looked at Ayako with a crooked smile.

"Right…" Ayako smiled warily back. _Mai… threatened Ayako? _

"Are you okay?" I mouthed to Ayako when Mai's back was turned. She scoffed and threw her hair behind her. She mouthed what looked like- 'of course.' I nodded back in relief.

"So what should we do now?" Mai asked in an oddly chilly tone, as she handed everyone a drink. I couldn't help the shiver that ran down my spine when she handed my drink. _That's not the Mai we know… _Her eyes were cold, and even though she had a big grin on her face it didn't look very real.

"Actually Mai, I have something to talk to you about. Come here." Mai instantly skipped to where Naru was sitting.

"Yes?" She asked pleasantly.

"You know about it don't you?" He said non-chalantly, and Mai's eyes narrowed.

"About what?"

"Your father and…" He implied, waiting for her reaction.

"My father and… What?" Was asked through gritted teeth.

"You father and my father's." He shrugged, and Mai's eyes widened in shock. I looked at Naru in surprise _What are you planning to do?!_

"What do you mean?" She repeated, jaw clenched tightly.

"When did you find out?" Naru goaded. "Did you see us?" That seemed to be the last straw, as Mai jumped Naru and gripped tightly on his shoulders. I was standing beside Naru, and I could see Mai's fingers digging harshly in his shoulder. _That's got to hurt… _I thought worriedly, but Naru didn't seem the least bit affected.

"NOT HER!" She yelled, and with effort took a few breaths before saying…"You… love… me… " She said the words slowly, one word per breath.

"Do I?" Naru stared back with a sly smirk. _Wait what!? This wasn't what we planned! _Mai crashed on the floor as if weakened. _Whoa..._

"Please… Please love me." Her eyes were shimmering with tears as she looked up from where she sat.

"You threatened Ayako didn't you?" He asked coldly, and Mai flinched.

"I- I thought she was the one you were seeing…" Her tears started to fall on her cheeks. "I-I'm so-r-ry…" She gasped as she continued to sob.

Naru sighed exaggeratedly. "You don't trust me…" He looked almost hurt, before he sighed again. "Come here." He spread his arms, and Mai looked at him oddly.

"Y-you never let me hug you." Her sobs stopped quickly, as she narrowed her eyes in what looked like suspicion. Naru only smirked at her.

_What are you doing? _I tried to ask Naru in my head. It didn't work. _Ugh… Why did our telepathy have to get cut off?_

Just then Mai stood up, and I saw something shiny clenched in her hands.

"Noll!" I said aloud, as I raced to grab the small pocket knife in Mai's hands.

"Shit!" It seems Monk realized the same thing I did.

Mai raised the small knife, and glared at Naru. "You're mine…" She murmured and brought the knife down.

_It's too late! _I cried in my head as I watched the knife that was aimed at my brother.

I almost cried in relief when I saw Naru holding Mai's hand in a tight grip, preventing the knife from touching him.

"Don't you realize where we are?" I heard Naru say as he unclenched Mai's hands and handed the knife to Monk. "Look in front of you." He told Jenny –through Mai. What Mai – and Jenny- saw was not just an old Cherry Blossom tree, it was The Cherry Blossom tree. It was the tree closest to the old entrance, the same entrance Jenny stared intently at decades ago.

The same tree Jenny had wanted to show Mitsuo. However unlike that night, the tree was not in bloom.

"The… park." Mai collapsed in his still open arms. "Where we… Where we…"

"The Cherry Blossoms were in bloom." He whispered in her ears. "On our first case." I saw Mai struggling in his arms, but that was stopped quickly when he said. "I saw you, you know." He said nonchalantly. _Well, at least the words were romantic. _"You looked incredibly idiotic skipping to school."

I sighed. _That's not romantic at all! Idiot scientist. _

"Then as if you were in some old fashioned cartoon show, you stopped and starting poking your nose where it didn't belong." He scoffed, and Mai froze. "But you were amazingly… simple." He said with a smirk. "All your friends were fawning at me, but you didn't know what to think." He shrugged. "Thought it was obvious you found me attractive."

_Wow… Way to go Naru. _He was supposed to charm her, not make her hate him even more. I sighed again.

"But you didn't know what to do with yourself." He smirked again. "Because you saw things that your friends couldn't dream of seeing." He lifted her head with his fingers. "You were different from the others." He said quietly, his face neutral but his eyes were burning with honesty.

"N-Naru…" I heard Mai say breathlessly.

"I promised didn't I?" He said with a small hidden smile, which made Mai gasp in surprise. He led her to the Cherry Blossom tree. "It's beautiful." He whispered.

Just then, the tree transformed.

Though the season for the Cherry Trees had long since passed, the tree went in full bloom in a matter of seconds.

_Whoa…. _It was indeed beautiful. Full of life even as its petals scattered tranquilly on the stone pavement.

"Just like we thought it would be…" Mai nodded quickly, and I saw a few tears running down the side of her face. "I'm sorry for making you wait… I'm sorry…" He said quietly as he hugged Mai to his chest. Mai's cries only grew louder. "Can I answer now?" He said with his chin placed on Mai's head.

Mai hugged him tigher at the waist and murmured a tired… "Y-yes."

"I love you." He whispered in her ears. She looked into his eyes for a few seconds, judging the truth in his statement. Whatever she saw, she seemed contented.

"I love you too…" She replied quietly, a long range of emotions spilling into her words. She hugged Naru once more, before deflating in his arms. "Mitsuo…" Naru sighed, making sure that she didn't fall.

The Cherry Blossom tree, an illusion brought along by Jenny's will, disappeared. There was a bright explosion, petal-pink fireworks that spread quickly through the night sky. It left only a cluster of petals scattered on the floor.

Later on, after discussing what had occurred, we found that only a few of us were able to see the beautiful tree.

Monk, Ayako, Yasuhara, John, and even Lin…all of them did not witness Jenny's beautiful illusion.

Still, not long after, even the petals had disappeared.

**~o~o~o~o~o~ **

Driving back to the manor was a short journey. Oddly enough, I was asked to sit in the front, next to Lin. I looked calmly through my window, looking as Jenny had for a Cherry Blossom tree in bloom. It was a lost cause, but I didn't know what else to do. I didn't think it would be appropriate to look forward, in case I was tempted to look at the rearview mirror.

Naru was sitting in the back today, reading a new research book. Mai was at the back with him, contentedly asleep with her head carefully rested on Naru's lap.

Still, somehow I was tempted to look, only to see if the hand that Naru was using for turning his pages were still petting Mai's hair softly.

I cracked a small grin.

It was.

**~o~o~o~o~o~ **

When we reached the Manor, Naru closed his book quietly. After putting the book back where he had found it, he lifted Mai carefully off his lap, and put her in a sitting position. All this was done quietly and carefully. When he seemed content with her placement he opened his door and stepped out gracefully. I didn't think to ask about the awkwardly done routine.

Monk came from his own ride, and after grinning at an unsuspecting Naru had carried Mai out of the car. That routine at least, seemed to have been practiced a thousand times. Monk acted amusingly like a father when it came to Mai.

We found ourselves in the house in no time, and there in the living room were Mr. and Mrs. Hayashi. Lin had been asked to contact them to notify them the case was at an end.

"What… what can we do now?" Mrs. Hayashi asked, as soon as Naru, Lin and I were seated (the others had gone ahead to the base.)

"I suggest asking the hospital to leave Ryoko in your care." Naru spoke calmly, sipping at the tea that he had been offered. Mrs. Hayashi nodded carefully. "Do you have any concerns?"

"How can we be sure that she's better?" Mr. Hayashi now asked, though he quickly added… "We don't mean to insult your work, it's just…" His eyes looked haunted. "She didn't want to stop…" He said quietly. "Sometimes she would act sweet and regretful, just like the Ryoko we knew. Then the next moment she'd be planning how to hurt us enough to allow her to see that Fuuji-boy." Naru nodded.

"It's your choice if you want to leave her there for a little bit longer. But I swear that the moment you talk to your daughter. You'll know not to keep her there." Naru looked and sounded confident.

"It would make her feel better too," I added. "-to be able to apologize… Even if she hadn't been in control of her actions." I looked at Mrs. Hayashi straight in the eyes. "She'd want to be able to apologize to Fuuji-san, and to you." Just like that Mrs. Hayashi started to sob. It wasn't a desperate sob, it was the sob of a mother who had found the daughter she had lost. Mr. Hayashi circled her shoulder with an arm, comforting her silently.

"We'll take your word for it…" He said quietly to us. "Thank you." He added quietly. "Thank you for everything." He bowed his head.

We could only bow back, before excusing ourselves quietly.

**AN: See you in the next chapter. **

_Please Review~! So that I can post the next chapter faster :D _

_Tell me what you think! I hope you enjoyed it. _

_JewelRinoa 8-29-14_


	9. Chapter 9: Last Hope I

**Revived Chapter 9: **_Last Hope I _

_AN: THANK YOU VERY MUCH :D For all the support, the reviews, the favorites, and of course the follows. :D It means a lot to me, and really pushes me to keep writing :D I hope you enjoy this chapter. _

**Disclaimer**_**: Unfortunately, still no. xD**_

**~o~o~o~o~o~**

**Mai's POV **

It was hard to erase the memories from the previous case. The teasing was constant, and this time it wasn't just because I had - yet again- fallen asleep at the most crucial parts. It was the sly nudges and the knowing glances that everyone kept giving me. They didn't outright say it, but the thought was enough!

I had woken up on one of the couches in the room that we had used for a base. Somehow I slept through the dismantling and packing of equipment. I could see the equipment all packed and ready on the trolley that we had used before. As I looked around the room, I looked back to my memories from the day before. _Did we complete the case? _I asked myself mentally, looking through the memories. Just as IT hit me… I noticed.

There, standing in front of the only window in the room was the one and only Kazuya Shibuya. Or Oliver Davis… BUT that wasn't important at the moment. At least it didn't look like he had noticed that I had woken up. I don't think I could have handled it if he had. I tried to remain as still as possible as I ran through my memories again, hoping (in vain) that I had somehow remembered it wrong.

But no… H-he… he really said it!

"_I love you…" _

"Wah!" I couldn't hold back the scream of embarrassment, as my face practically turned into a tomato. I could feel the blush heating up my face. I reached over to hide my face. I could have sworn someone had shoved my face in an oven of some kind.

And that wasn't even the worst part! _"I love you too…" _As if being stuck in an oven wasn't enough, I began to feel like I had somehow flown to space and embraced the sun.

"I see you're awake." I couldn't help but shiver slightly at the familiar voice. In FEAR of course… nothing else. "Perhaps I should cut your wages, since you spend most of the time asleep." Stubborn as I was, I wasn't able to look at him for very long. He looked the same as always, immaculate and narcissistic, but somehow my heart was beating ten times faster than it had ever before. I couldn't even comment or sass back at his jerk-ish comments. All I could do was clutch at the bottom of my top as I tried to reign in my heart beat.

"Y-you…" I didn't even know what I was going to say, but as soon as I chanced a glance and saw that smug smirk on his face-"Narcissist… jerk." I managed to say through the cloudy haze that was my mind.

My heart skipped a beat before continuing to drum wildly in my chest. Were his words… true? I chanced another glance, but Naru was already looking back at the window. He looked calmer than usual, more peaceful. The smug grin was gone, and in its place was a microscopic smile.

It was the kind of smile only Naru was able to make. In that instant, I remembered that while his feelings for me may be professional at most, I was head over heels… and still falling.

It wasn't that I had forgotten the fact that I… liked him. Just that I've never put too much thought in the chance that he'd ever like me back. For a while there it even seemed like he and Masako had a thing. In the end, it would always just be wishful thinking in my part. Ive wanted to say those words, the same three words that would cement the feelings that I had for him. But I never said it, couldn't say it.

At least until yesterday… My feelings were mixed in regards to my confession. I regret the fact that Jenny had to say it for me, but I was relieved as well. Naru's confession was a hoax. Jenny saw it while she stared into his eyes. Naru didn't love Jenny, but neither did he love me. I thought that would make me sad, maybe even heart-broken. It did, even now I could feel the hollow feeling that the thought brought. It left a gaping hole in my chest… but I wasn't a quieter. There was still time, so much time. I'd wait for him for as long as possible. I'd wait until I could no longer, or at least until I knew that it was useless.

I knew in the end, I probably should confess. To say the words, so that Naru would know that they were mine and no one else's. But as I tried to say the words, all that came out was air. As I stared at the still microscopic lift of Naru's lips, I realized that it could wait. That it would have to wait. Wait for the day that it will come out naturally, not forced by anyone or anything. Plus… a selfish part of me wanted to hear it from Naru first. The one with Jenny didn't count either.

Jenny was a nice girl. She just loved a bit too much. That love twisted itself after trials, and Jenny had let it consume her. She hadn't anything to loose, in the beginning she believed that what she did was for the better. But I felt her regret, at having killed her beloved. I felt the pain and guilt that had consumed her, leading to her suicide. What she did was not right; there were many other things she could have done. She knew it, but it was too late when she did…

Barely any words were spoken as we left the manor. We bid the Hayashi family one final goodbye as the doors closed.

It wasn't until now (barely two weeks later) that we all got to see each other again, though Masako and John were a bit busy to come immediately. Naru hadn't mentioned the Hayashi case again, not even to tell me about Ryoko's release from the asylum. Gene had been the one to tell me that.

Now we had a new case. This time the case was offered by Yasuhara. Yasu had quickly sneaked his way into the group, almost as quickly as Gene had. He was ready to help in anyway, offering his intelligence and charisma for the betterment of the team. He was older than me by a year, and is now on his way to become a full-pledged adult. He never mentioned what he planned to do in the future, but perhaps it was because we hadn't asked.

The case in front of us was familiar, too familar. In fact that's probably why Yasuhara couldn't stay away if he tried.

Naru was hesitant to take the case, but much like how Yasuhara had persuaded Naru to take in the case of his school he somehow managed to do the same for the current school. Oono High School* was a public school in the same area as the private school Yasu attended. The Student Council of Oono had contacted Yasu and had begged him for help. In a way it was odd that they called Yasu, but it also made sense. After all, Yasuhara was the reason why SPR had decided to take the case at the private school. The incidents that happened in Yasu's school caused the students a lot of grief. Most of them had probably been in fear the whole time, not knowing if the next victim would be them. In the end Naru had made everything better, even after I had lost my faith.

This time there was less media exposure, but more small incidents. The Student Council of Oono, were at their wits end with the complaints, and the incidents were still occurring. Somehow they managed to persuade the school board to allow them to hire SPR. The school wasn't able to do much to stop them, not when the other students backed them completely. Everyone was scared, and there wasn't anything or anyone they can point the blame to.

We didn't know very much about the so-called-incidents, but we knew that there were enough of them that students started to fear for their own lives. It was the Student Council's job to keep the other students happy, even if that meant cutting back on their spending in order to be able to afford the fee.

"Will you take it?" Yasuhara had stood before the rest of us, pleading the school's case.

"In the end, ghost phenomena may have nothing to do with it." Naru had replied, calmly sipping his tea.

"Well, they thought it would be best to at least try." I saw the hard clench of Yasu's fist as he waited for his answer. He might not be as involved in this case as his old case, but he probably knew what the students were feeling. Having felt the same fear and pain they were facing. "Most of the victims survived with scratches and bruises, but others may have to spend weeks recovering in a hospital. None of them can report to seeing what could have hurt them, and a few victims had even been around friends when they were hurt."

"You mean to say, that they didn't see their attacker?" Naru placed his tea back on the saucer.

"No… not from what I heard." Yasu shook his head wildly, his glasses glinting from the light overhead. "A few of them claimed that they saw a shadow, a dark shadow swooping in before suddenly all they could feel was the pain." His jaw was clenched, and I could see his eyes darkening through his glasses. "With so many incidents, it's hard to believe that they still can't find the person who did all this."

"How do they know it was one person?" Monk asked looking slightly irritated, he didn't take too kindly at the fact that the school board hadn't done anything to help.

"Each victim had a part of their hair removed." Yasu sighed, opening the folder he was carrying.

"Removed how?" Ayako asked in honest medical curiosity

"That's part of the reason." Yasu shrugged. "Removed is probably the wrong word, because reports say that it all happened naturally."

"Naturally?" I saw the dubious expression on Ayako's face as she started to instinctively reach for her own hair.

"I didn't get to ask much about that, but yes. This is a photo taken right after an incident." He took out a picture from the file. "The president himself claims that he saw the hair falling from the victims head. He took a picture with his phone as soon as possible. Well after rushing her into the infirmary." He offered the photo to Ayako, who paled almost immediately. "Aside from the injury all the victims have shown signs of hair loss." The picture was finally passed to me and I saw why Ayako had been so surprised. The person in the picture was a girl, and she was clutching at long strands of hair in her uninjured hand. The other hand was bandaged carefully from her palms to her shoulders. The photo was at an angle that showed a bald patch in the girl's head.

"Her case scared everyone; there was a lot of blood involved, even if the cut had been shallow."

"Cut?" Ayako asked.

"There was a long horizontal cut on her arm." Ayako winced.

"That's…" She started. "That's the most effective way to commit-"

"Suicide, I know. That's what the staff in the school had told the Student Council." Yasu said with a sigh.

"That's… The cut must have been shallow and poorly coordinated, but if it had managed to even nick one of her arteries or veins…" I could see the shiver that ran down her spine.

"Then it could have been a murder we're dealing with now." Gene stated quietly, his face turning a sickly color. He had been quiet till now, listening patiently for Yasu to finish his story. Now his face was clouded in worry, worry for people he had never met. I looked at Naru, he didn't look as affected, but after looking closer you could see his body was unnaturally stiff as he tried to wrap his mind around the facts.

"We'll take the case." Much to the relief of everyone, including Masako and John who we were informed as soon Naru had made his decision. They both promised to make it to the school as soon as their duties were finished.

After that, the teasing started. No one said a word, but maybe that's what made it worse. At least Naru had his bat cave to hide in, I was forced to suffer the attention of the mischievous trio, and their little glances. The smirks, the winks and the double-meaning of words that they DID say were embarrassing. The only reprieve I had was Gene, who had taken some mild pain-killers in order to make the soreness in his body go away. He said he just over estimated his limits on the last case, but that the pain was to be expected. He even said that it was to be expected, and that he welcomed it, as long it meant that he was getting slightly better as the days went by.

In order to save me from any more humiliation, Gene skillfully changed the subject. Which worked… but only for a while.

"You mean my spirit leaves my body when I'm… what did you call it?" I asked for probably the millionth time. Fortunately my teacher was a patient one.

"Astral projecting." Gene answered with a patient smile. "It's what you call an out-of-body experience." Somehow the words didn't register very well in my head. I could hear Monk and Ayako snickering at my slowness, but I tried my best to ignore them.

"Huh?" I asked with a sheepish smile.

Gene, oh ever so patient Gene, smiled before trying again. "Here they call it Ikiryou*, have you ever heard of that?" I shook my head no. "An Ikiryou is the spirit of someone alive."

"The spirit?" Gene nodded.

"Whilst a Yurei is a spirit of someone who has long since passed." He added.

"So the difference is that an Ikiryou is the spirit of someone alive, and a Yurei is the spirit of someone dead." I stated, and he gave me a bright smile.

"Yup! You're getting it." He smiled gently, causing my cheeks to heat up as the others continued their giggling. "When you are in the astral plane, you are basically an Ikiryou."

"So I'm a ghost?" It made sense, but at the same time it didn't.

"A spirit yes, but you're not dead." He said slowly, choosing his words carefully.

"Is it dangerous?" I asked.

"If you asked John, he'd probably say that it is." Gene said with a thoughtful look. "Catholic practices mention that an out-of-body experience – like astral projecting – leaves your body and spirit vulnerable to demons and other bad influences."

"So going in the astral is dangerous?" I asked again, and he smiled again.

"Alone yes." He said his lips now turned downward. "Being alone in the astral leaves you vulnerable to other spirits and you might even end up lost and unable to return." The shiver ran along my spine unheeded, as the room instantly turned silent. "Of course." He added, flipping his frown upside down. "I won't let that happen. You don't have to worry about your body either." He said quietly as he looked at the door to Naru's office, before looking at everyone else in the room. "I'm sure everyone here will work hard to keep anything from damaging it." He stated confidently, and for a moment everyone was quiet.

"That's true!" Before I knew it Monk had me in headlock and was ruffling my hair.

"Bou-san!" I growled, but there was no real bite in my words. No… in fact I couldn't stop smiling.

From the corner of my eyes I could see Yasu and Gene chuckling, while Ayako scoffed-a hidden smile on her face.

**~o~o~o~o~o~ **

I found myself in a dark room. From the shadows I could make out a bed, and two figures. One was lying on the bed, while another was standing beside it.

"_I'll take care of it for you…" _The voice was calm, and soothing.

"_W-who are y-ou?" _This was a different voice, weak and raspy.

"_Don't you recognize me?" _The stronger one, who I assumed was the one standing, said sarcastically.

"_Y-you're!" _The weaker voice said loudly, voice cracking and erupting into pitiful coughs. The stronger one laughed, soothing tone long gone.

"_So? Will you let me? I'll do it all for you… You can't control my body of course, but you'll be able to see your dreams as I make them come true." _The stronger one persuaded, its voice turning almost snake-like as it hissed out what sounded like venom filled words.

"_I- I don't know." _The weaker one said in between coughs.

"_Don't you trust __**me**__?" _The stronger voice asked almost innocently, before guffawing loudly.

"_I-I…" _

"_This is your only chance… The only way… But if you don't want to, then it's okay!" _The figure that had been leaning on the figure on the bed started to walk away.

"_I-I!" _There was a long pause, as the standing figure paused in his steps. _"O-okay… I'll trust you…" _

In the darkness, I saw the glint of white teeth as it formed a malicious smile.

**~o~o~o~o~o~ **

"Fell asleep Mai?" An amused voice asked, as my eyes adjusted to the natural light flowing in through the car window. "I guess it is a bit early." There was deep soothing chuckle.

"G-gene?" I said in between a yawn.

"Over here!" He announced happily, from his spot beside me. "Good dream?" he asked with a pleasant smile.

"Actually…" I began, as I tried to focus hard on everything that I had seen in the dream. "It was a bit weird." Gene's face immediately turned serious.

"Were you at the Astral?" He asked, looking concerned.

I shrugged. "I'm not sure." He frowned.

"Can you tell me about it?" He looked worried, his eyebrows were furrowed and his lips thinned out.

"Well… There were two people." I began my tale, trying to keep as accurate as possible.

"Allow him to do what exactly?" Gene murmured to himself, after I told my story. "Do you think it has anything to do with our current case?" I could only shrug, feeling helpless. "Naru? What do you think?" Gene asked, scooting closer to the passenger seat. Naru turned his head to us, as unreadable as usual.

"It's too early to tell." Naru said in a calculating tone. Gene bit his lip, but nodded. "Mai, don't forget to tell us if you have another dream." He ordered, and I nodded.

"Can't control my body…" Gene whispered, repeating the words from my dream. "-but be able to see…" He was still biting his lip. "That sounds like possession, but not really." He shook his head. "Almost like a backwards possession." He groaned. "That doesn't make any sense."

"It might not mean anything." I tried to say, but Gene shook his head again.

"No, I'm almost definitely sure that your dream has something to do with our case." He said quietly, and I could only smile awkwardly in return. "You don't mind if we travel together later do you?" His expression was serious.

"In the astral?" The word still felt foreign in my mouth.

He nodded. "In your astral." He smiled sheepishly, and I tilted my head.

"Haven't we been doing that ever since?" I asked, and he started to look vaguely embarrassed.

"I've never asked before." He shrugged. "That was a bit rude of me, entering your space like that." He looked almost like a child who had just admitted to doing something against his parents' wishes. "I'm sorry."

"Oh no! It's really okay. It would be safer anyways, if we go together. Right?" I said modestly as he bowed his head repeatedly.

"Still…" His face flushed. "Sorry for entering your dreams without permission."

"Well its fine now." I smiled and Gene gave a small smile back, Gene really was too polite. He and Naru were physically identical, but they acted nothing alike. I rolled my eyes at the stiff posture of Naru, whose eyes were trained on a book in his lap. "You'll get sick, reading in the car like that." I scolded. Naru glanced at me shortly before turning back to his book.

"My brain can handle it better than yours." He said so nonchalantly, as if he was commenting on the weather.

"Grrrrr…" I growled as I tried not to throw one of his expensive – INSURED - cameras at his head.

**~o~o~o~o~o~o~ **

Oono High School is a make believe school, which I constructed so that I can have a setting for this case. ;)

Ikiryou and Yurei are basic Japanese terms (which are defined in the story.) I did some research involving Japanese folklore and what not. Unfortunately that doesn't make me an expert (FAR FAR FAR from it.) Everything I use in this story is basic research, I read a little every now and again. My memory is not the best, so I may have messed things up a little. If that's the case please correct me. :D

**AN: **_Thanks for reading! _

_Please Review, so that I can write the next chapter faster ;) _

_JewelRinoa 9/1/14 _


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